Hematology
by Fourth in Command Cixalea Jwan
Summary: You can't choose your blood type. Just like you can't choose what happens after a bite. Blood type is everything. It's the difference between life and death, satiation and starvation, the human and the vampire. Vampire!AU Human names used. No yaoi. Completed.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himayura Hidekazu. **

"Vash! Open up! Let me in!"

The blonde opened his dull, green eyes to stare at the white ceiling.

"Vash! I know I said I wouldn't do this again. Well, I lied. Now, if you would be so kind?"

The pounding on the metal gate that protected his door continued. In one smooth motion, the fourteen-year-old popped a round in his rifle and shot blindly out at the darkness revealed by his second story window.

"Vash. Perhaps if you would care to _aim_, you would be helpful!"

The teen rolled his eyes under narrowed brows. Groaning, he pulled himself out of his comfy bed and walked across the cold floor, down the flight of stairs, and to the door. Clicking through all four deadbolts, a dark-haired boy about his age flew into the house panting and sweating. Dressed in fancy, thick clothes rather than the attire more suited to a Hunter.

"Thanks, Vashy. Now hurry and close the door. I would be most grateful if you would fix me some tea or something."

Vash said nothing as he slowly loaded another round into his gun. He wasn't naïve. He knew the chaser wouldn't give up if there was a simple door standing between them. The pursuer was now visible from the light the house gave off. Large, hungry irises shone as brightly as the points of light that danced off his fangs.

"Um, the door? It's still open? Vash! Are you really this dimwitted?"

Only Vash would be able to tell that the voice carried subtle tones of worry and fear underneath the scathing and pompous remarks. It made no difference in his actions though.

He made a show of brining the gun up to his shoulder and let his finger snake around the trigger. He challenged the oncoming stranger with his eyes. He wasn't joking around.

The attacker kept coming, clearly driven senseless by hunger.

He hesitated just a moment longer. Then, when it was clear there was no stopping him, he pulled the trigger. The sound erupted from the barrel and the fanged runner fell to the ground. The bullet lodged right between his eyes.

The blonde lowered the gun and finally closed the door taking care to snap all the locks back in place.

"You know, you really _should_ be a hunter."

"And you really_ shouldn't _be!" The blonde yelled, as he threw the coat that his friend was trying hang on the coat stand back at him, "How many times have you dragged a vampire from one of your jobs onto my property? _How many times_, _Roderich?"_

The brunette simply laid the coat across the back of the dusty couch and made his way to the kitchen. Vash followed impatiently and snatched the kettle out of his reach before he could attempt to make tea for himself.

Roderich sighed, "Vash, you know I've lost count. And so have you."

The friend slunk down on to the stool of Vash's piano back in the living room. The ivories were dusty and the floor pedals were sticky. The piano was very valuable but it was clearly in need of maintenance. Roderich never understood his blonde, hermit friend.

He began to play a simple tune he learned during a time when he didn't have to go kill vampires when Vash slammed his hand down on the low keys causing what was the equivalent of a musically-induced heart-attack for Roderich.

"Well, it's too many times! If you can't handle doing your job then find another profession! Don't drag me into it and force me to kill an innocent person just to save your sorry butt _again_!"

"Oh," Roderich laughed dryly, "_now_ I remember why you aren't a hunter."

Vash just continued frowning. He wouldn't mind Roderich so much if his childhood friend would just come visit for lunch or something like normal people did instead of leading a trail of half-starved vampires to his door that tried to make a lunch out of them.

He just wanted to be left in peace –by vampires and hunters alike. He kept having this nightmare that his house would be targeted by a Den or something because he'd had to murder so many vampires outside his home.

"So are you going to finish him or am I?" The blonde spat, pushing Roderich to the door.

"He's B- so the answer's clear."

Vash's vein on his forehead began to swell.

"You went after a vampire that had your _matching_ blood type? Do you _want_ to become one of them, you _idiot_!"

"Well, many hunters are sent to kill targets that match them all the time. You just take out whomever you are assigned. They don't take blood type into consideration."

"I know that, but I was talking about you specifically. Would it be rude to ask how many vampires you have _actually_ killed because I think I could probably top your kill count, and I'm not a hunter!"

"You keep saying you're not-"

"Because it's true! Now get out of my house!"

"Settle down. No need to be so testy. I'm leaving." The brunette snooted as he marched out the door like he was some sort of nobleman. However, he was stopped by the elaborate set of locks. After staring at them a while, Vash sighed, shoved him aside, and quickly opened them all.

"Thank you, Vash. Although, your piano is horrendously out of tune. It's just so cruel to leave a beautiful instrument in such neglect. Anyway, I'll see you later sometime. Goodbye."

The blonde was wondering if anyone would care if he committed two murders tonight. He was already going to have to bury one body. Would another really require that much bigger of a hole?

Vash walked over to the shot vampire. He was pretty young but clearly hungry. He wondered how long Roderich had been tracking him, forcing him to keep on the run, until making a last stand was his only option.

He could almost see the scene play out in his head. The poor sucker charged after Roderich. He knew that they had the same blood type. It was either win against the hunter and drink his blood raw -which would force Roderich to become a vampire (a crime punishable by death)- to save his own life. Or he could collapse and let the hunter fulfill his job and end his starvation.

Vash pushed the thoughts out of his head as he rolled back his shirt sleeve. Taking a knife, he made a small slice across his wrist –just enough to draw blood. Pinching the wound to make the red pool faster, he opened the vampire's mouth. He was still stunned by the bullet.

Vampires were never truly dead when shot in the head or chest or other vital areas, but it took lots of care and blood -most importantly- for them to be revived from it. If left, the vampire, paralyzed, would be forever living in eternal starvation.

Vash held his bloodied wrist over the mouth of the vampire allowing several scarlet tears to drop into his mouth. After he was sure the blood was swallowed, he wrapped his arm up and waited. He didn't have to wait long. The poor thing convulsed and erupted into seizures before, finally, dying.

Both the boys stood in silence, staring at the new corpse, before Vash turned bitterly to his friend.

"Your welcome. Now get off my property."

**[Okay, so I have no idea if the concept of blood type being significant to vampirism has ever been introduced before so I will explain it a little better. **  
**You can only turn someone into a vampire if the vampire and human have matching blood types.  
Ex: An A+ human can only be turned into a vampire by being bitten by a vampire that's A+.**  
**Vampires can only feed off those that have the same blood types as them.  
Ex: An A+ vampire can only feed of a A+ human.**  
**Vampires are poisoned by any other blood type other than their own (even O blood types for those biology people out there, it's not the same as blood donation compatibility).  
Ex: An A+ vampire will die if they feed of a human that has an A-, B+, B-, O-, O+, AB- or AB+. (AB+ would still kill it because there's B+ mixed with the A+.) **  
**So why aren't there a trillion vampires running around in the world? Hunters were used in the early days as population control, but it's dying out now because of a new, more mutually beneficent, method of human-vampire relations that has become increasingly popular. This "method" will be explained better in the later chapters.]**

**Just a little info:**

******I won't be including any nyo-talia or OCs.  
I also won't be including swearing or cursing because, _believe it or not_, quality stories can be written without it.  
****I think the only pairing that I will have, if any, is Prussia/Hungary/Austria (all of it being pretty PG-rated stuff). All the rest are non-romantic friendships. If you want to read romance then you have about a bazillion other fics in this fandom that are right up your ally. This is not one. :)**

**I think the only nations I won't include would be the non-canon countries (like Scotland) and the Nordics (because I just don't know them well enough to write for them).  
**

******I have this story written out in a timeline so, hopefully, that will make writer's block less of an issue. (Yeah. 'Cause we all know that another fic is something I need to add to my plate! I'm working on the other Hetalia and RvB stuff too, guys! I promise!)**

**I hope you enjoyed reading this one. Reviews are appreciated so review if you so desire!  
I can't promise a regular update time, but I have a good deal of the next chapter already written so it should be relatively soon (I hope). **

**Looking forward to it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to Ana Braginski Serbia for the review! You're wish is my command! XD  
Also, a shout out to Taylorgb who reviewed as well! Thank you for the kind words!  
~Illustriously returning the thanks,  
****Cixalea~**

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himayura Hidekaz.**

Roderich continued on the trail until the trail turned into a path, the path curved onto a road, and the road led to town. He wouldn't admit it to himself, but he did get lost a couple times, and it was really late before he got back. Of course Vash's house was, like, miles away from any sort of civilization. He'd be too close to people and have to socialize or something horrible like that. The brunette wondered how his friend stayed sane. Considering how trigger-happy Vash was it was a legitimate question.

Roderich, however, missed culture. He hated every second he was away on a hunt because that meant those were seconds he couldn't spend surrounded by the music and art that he so loved. Sure his hands were calloused, but he'd much rather use them to learn to play piano. Yeah he knew how to fire a gun, but he'd much rather spend his time at the symphony than at the range. So what if he knew how to survive in the wilderness on next to nothing? He'd much rather occupy his time slow dancing with a girl on the ballroom floor. Those were things he actually cared about; those were things he was actually_ good_ at. He wasn't opposed to killing vampires. It was just his job though. Nothing more.

"BOO!"

A figure sprung from a dark alley between brick buildings and lunged at Roderich. Roderich didn't scream. That just wasn't in his personality. He did, however, gasp and immediately slap the assailant.

The figure was unnaturally pale, and its eyes shown like red orbs of blood. The figure smiled, however, to reveal no pointed teeth.

"Don't do that, Gilbert. I thought you were a vampire. Now I look like a fool."

"No. What makes you a fool was that you _slapped_ the awesome person you thought was a vampire! Is that what you do when one attacks you? No wonder you're so terrible –unlike the awesome Me! I'm so awesome that the vampires run away and cower because they are so intimidated!"

"Humph." Roderich snorted, as he tried to walk away from his very pale friend's gloating, but Gilbert caught up to him.

"So did you give up? Is that why you're back? Or is the symphony playing and you just couldn't miss it!"

"I finished my job. I'm on my way to headquarters to log it as a matter of fact."

The brunette never had the courage to tell anyone about how he really completed most of his jobs, especially Gilbert. If _he_ found out, he'd make it his personal goal to tell absolutely everyone. As if he wasn't already being threatened with being kicked out of the Hunter's Guild as it was…

"Kesesese! Hey, the awesome Me's gotta do some clean up on the east side. So I guess I'll have to cut off this awesome conversation therefor making it not awesome any longer!"

"Oh how terrible." Roderich muttered under his breath.

"So I'll see ya later then, ja?" The albino slapped the poor brunette on the back and stalked off. Maybe, if he was stealthy enough, he would come across some more people he could scare!

Gilbert cackled to himself thinking of all the high-pitched, contorted faces of all his unfortunate victims before they turned as red as a tomato and started freaking out at him.

He was glad Roderich didn't comment about the east side. There's nothing hunter-related over on the east side. He mentally slapped himself for slipping up, but he was sure he could talk Roderich into anything. Besides, every time Roderich saw Gilbert the brunette tried to get away as fast as possible. Gilbert knew he probably shouldn't tease him so much but it was too fun!

He marched down the street, keeping full alert for any passing pedestrians. Maybe it was just his Hunter instincts that were ingrained in him since the day he was born or maybe he was just the regular paranoid/observant type, but Gilbert probably would have been keeping an eye out for other people out on the prowl this late at night regardless.

Continuing his way east, he finally made it to the outskirts of town. Scanning the darkness of the woods, he watched for any movement.

Where was his client? He thought he was on time, but maybe he spent too much time tormenting Roderich? Or what if a vampire- no. He had to stop freaking himself out like this. However, fear still snaked its icy fingers around his heart. He had no idea how he would react if she was taken by one of them. He gripped the sword on his hip.

Suddenly, he brought the weapon from its sheath to block an attempted attack while his back was turned. The metal met metal with a clang and both parties jumped back into attack stances. Suddenly, relief flooded through Gibert as he lowered his sword.

"Elizabe-"

The woman slapped him across the face, the opposite side that Roderich had just previously slapped.

"OUCH! What is with hitting the awesome Me's face tonight?!"

"Y-you're late! I told you to be here half an hour ago! What was I supposed to do when I saw a person with really pale skin standing there?! You know what you look like!"

She crossed her arms and looked away to try to hide her embarrassment as she realized the total hypocrisy of her own accusation.

"Like a knight in awesome shining armor? I knew you would pick up on it someday!"

"Ugh!" She raised her frying pan again, her strange weapon of choice.

Gilbert only half-jokingly raised his hands up to guard himself from another possible attack.

"Kesesese~" He snickered.

"Every time I hire you I question my sanity."  
"After that you remember that I'm the awesome-est and come crawling back to me, ja?"

"You're the one that's gonna be crawling, Beilshmidt!"

"But! Would you hurt the awesome one bearing an almost-as-awesome gift?"

She lowered the frying pan slightly as her eyebrows rose. She wasn't sure if he was going to mess with her again. Slowly, his pale fingers brought a glass flask from his satchel (or, as Elizabeta called it, his "man-purse"). Inside it sloshed a red liquid.

"What are you doing?! Get rid of that!"

"But I worked so awesome-ly on it!"

Frantically, Elizabeta shoved him into the forest where the darkness could hide their forms and obscure their voices.

"I don't care!"

"Elizabeta, you know you need it." Gilbert's tone dropped to low and sober, while he held the bottle out to her. Everyone knew Gilbert was serious whenever he didn't somehow wedge the word "awesome" into a sentence.

"I don't know what your problem is, Gilbert, but I'm_ not_ a vampire no matter how much you insist upon it! I don't need it!" She snatched it from his hands and drew her arm back as if to throw it.

Gilbert rushed to intercept, holding the flask in one hand and her arm in another.

"Elizabeta! If you break this, it will attract every vampire within a kilometer!"

She ripped her arm away, panting. Gilbert's gaze softened, and his eyebrows angled up.

"I'm trying to help you." He said, pleading.

"You're helping me when you assist me in hunting vampires! That's _all!"_

Elizabeta huffed off into the forest, face paler than ever.

The albino knew the real reason why she kept hiring him to help her track and kill the vampires. She wasn't an official hunter, but she insisted on it anyway. She also insisted on going after the most dangerous vampires in the area -powerful vampires that required more than one person to take down. Nevertheless, the biggest reason no one helped her was that she _was_ a vampire.

She didn't look it though. Her skin was rather tanned for a vampire's, but from Gilbert's observation and research, that was because she was female. He didn't quite understand why, but girl vampires looked more like humans than male vampires. One of the smarty-pants in the guild suggested it was because female vampires tended to hunt in the day while the males tended to hunt at night. Gilbert wasn't sure he believed him though.

Aside from all the conspiracy theories, Elizabeta continued to deny time after time that she was a vampire.

It took Gilbert much longer than any of the other hunters to figure out what she really was, but, by that time, they both realized just how awesome of a team they were –too awesome of a team to split up. He even had to remind himself every once in a while of how dangerous she was to him. But the albino boy was firm in his belief that she wasn't a threat to anyone as long as she was in her right mind.

That was Gilbert's nightmare. Beautiful, strong Elizabeta, one of the few people he would ever allow to share his title of "Awesome", sinking down to the level of a blood-lusting animal. He didn't know how he could live with himself if that nightmare became reality. That's why he became her source of blood. She never asked him, but he knew she never would. She would lie to herself till her last coherent thought. So he drained his own blood into glass flasks for her.

Ironically, they were matched in more ways than one. He was even sporting an awesome bruise on the side of his head from where he must have hit it after passing out from an especially big donation. It was worth it though.

He quickly caught up to her. He carried the bottle in his awesome satchel still, and Elizabeta wouldn't look at him. He decided he'd better drop the subject for now.

"So what's the target this time that is considered worthy prey of the Awesome Duo?"

"Well, he's a pretty big one. He has lots of names but most of the locals call him "Turkey"." She spat the name like it was the source of all evil in the world.

"Turkey? That's the most un-awesome name for a vampire I've ever heard! Kesesese!" He started to laugh to try to lighten the suffocating mood.

"Gilbert! This is serious! He's terrorizing cities in the east! He's almost certainly a den leader, and he's turned whole towns into vampires! Well, at least the ones with a B+ blood type."

"Wait. B+?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"We can't kill a B+ because that's my –I mean- _our _awesome blood type! Did you hire someone else?"

Blood can be kept for periods of time in storage, but it needs to be kept cool. Considering how much trouble that was when hunters went on jobs for weeks on end, it was customary to contract a partner of a different blood type, typically an A with a B or etc., to help them.

"You know the others don't trust me. Besides, we'll figure something out. As much as I hate to admit it, we're a good team. I'm not worried."

Gilbert was frozen in shock. She had…no plan._ At all. _What was going on?!

Elizabeta noticed the look come over his pale face and frowned.

"Hey, if you don't want to come, you don't have to! Just forget about me paying you then!"

"No, no. I-I'm coming. Just…we need to be extra careful on this one. That's all."

"Glad you figured that one out, Sherlock. Don't worry. He won't turn us." She said, as they began to see the sun peak over the horizon.

Gilbert didn't smile. What was Elizabeta thinking?! This was insane! Elizabeta liked to do crazy things, but it was mostly in a sort of ultra-awesome crazy. This…this was suicide!

Vampires also traveled in pairs or groups. Blood type was like a gang sign in the vampire world. If you were a rival type then you fought so it was usually was to your advantage to have a buddy with you. If you were the same type, you could hunt together because you were after the same blood type as food –also the power of numbers came in pretty handy there too. If the group was large enough, it was called a Den.

If Turkey was a Den leader, he was certain to have minions, and he was certain to want to expand his Den too. They weren't just going to be going after Gilbert to turn him into a vampire, they were going to rip Elizabeta to pieces if she refused to go with them! Them _both_ to pieces! They would be competition.

Gilbert had always done his best to protect Elizabeta while they fought the vampires, but, now, it seemed like that would be his only focus this time around. He had no interest in fighting the vampires. He just wanted to keep Elizabeta safe.

Suddenly, Gilbert heard the rhythmic snapping of twigs that meant someone was walking through the forest with them.

"Get down!" Gilbert hissed, as he grabbed Elizabeta's arm to pull her behind some thick brush.

"Feliks, I swear I heard something! Please keep your voice down!" The frantic whisperer called.

"Like, if it's a vampire, we can totally take care of it! Like, why _should_ we be cautious and stuff?"

"Have you considered the fact that the reason we're alive to "take care" of the vampires is because we've been so cautious?"

"Bo-ring! Like, totally and completely!"

"Well, at least you're "totally and completely" alive to feel boredom. Also "totally and completely" human too."

"Yeah. Can you imagine trying to, like, suck someone's blood? That's totes disgusting! So gross!"

Gilbert thanked whatever awesome star he happened to wish on that granted him exactly what they needed right now. He stood up from their hiding spot only to have to quickly duck down as an arrow buried itself in the tree just behind him.

"Hey! Careful of the awesome Me! I'm not a vampire!" He said, as he put his hands up in surrender and, much more slowly, stood up.

He was faced by two boys, fairly young for hunters, but not uncommon. Truth be told they were only a few years shy of Gilbert's own age.

The blonde one flipped his hair with his hand then put it on his hip, his opposite hand tracing the pommel of the sword on his waist. His brunette counterpart held an arrow strung to fire but not drawn back yet. They both wore a look of experienced mistrust. They were young, but they weren't just gonna fall for anything.

Elizabeta stood up slowly as well. This caused the two to take more defensive stances and step back a little back. Their eyes danced to the rest of the forest expecting an ambush now.

Gilbert moved his hands in front of him in a calming manner.

"Settle down, guys. We're the only ones. We're hunters too." Elizabeta said, as she flipped her light brunette hair behind her.

After a few more moments of nothing, the two boys took their alert from code red back to code yellow.

"Hunters, hu?" The brunette with the arrows said, still cautious.

"Ja. I'm Gilbert. This is Elizabeta." He then showed them the Hunter's logo that was patched onto the inside of his jacket.

"Second class. Impressive." The brunette fully relaxed, "I'm Toris. This is Feliks. We're fourth class, but still we're pretty good."

"Like, why do you look like a vampire?"

"Feliks!" Toris gaped, appalled.

"I'm NOT a vampire!" Elizabeta fumed.

"Like, chill. I was totally talking to the other guy, what's-his-face, 'kay?"

Toris shoved Feliks and demanded he apologize while muttering something about him being a dumb blonde.

"What-_ever._ Like, I was just asking!"

There was an awkward silence before Gilbert just cut to the chase.

"So what're your blood types?"

"Our blood types? I'm an A+ and Feliks is O-."

"Really? An O-'s a hunter? That must be difficult knowing that any vampire that bit you can turn you."

"There's always that, but he's not really a primary target because even though every vampire can feed off him, they say O- blood tastes really bland." Toris said, defensively.

Feliks just flipped and played with his blonde locks with a look of sheer boredom.

"So can either of you two help us on our awesome quest? You see, we're both B+ and so is our target. We're in kind of an un-awesome pickle here."

"Um, well, we're kinda on a job right now, actually."

"Really? That's not awesome at all!"

"I guess we'll just be off then." Elizabeta said, as she started to walk away.

"Sorry we can't help! It was nice meeting you!" Toris called, as the two strange hunters stalked off into the distance.

"They were lame-os. I'm glad we couldn't go with them. Besides! I, like, want to get my nails painted a cute pink when we're done with this one!"

"Feliks, if you comment about your nails one more time, I'm feeding you to the next vampire we come across." The brunette said, as they continued making their way across the forest.

"Like, you totally wouldn't do that to me, Tori! Besides! You totally need my help and stuff!"

As much as Toris would love to deny it, he couldn't. Feliks was really good with his fencing. It saved both their necks countless times. Although, Toris had complete claim on being the brains of their operation.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

They had only walked a short while before Toris heard a sound on the wind.

"Feliks, do you hear someone laughing?"

"Nope."

Toris heard the noise again and felt a chill run up his spine. Something wasn't right about it. He was getting a horrible feeling that gripped his chest.

"…kolkolkolkol…"

"There it is again!"

"Like, I didn't hear anything!"

"Hello~"

The two boys yelped and jumped about three feet in the air as they whipped around to see a boy, a few years older than them, standing there smiling at them. A tattered scarf was wrapped around his neck, and he produced the sound that was only slightly comparable to laughing.

"Vampire!" Toris shouted, as he noticed the boy's eyes open to purple irises.

Toris strung his bow, and Feliks drew his sword.

The vampire's eyes opened to surprise at the display of weapons only to crease back into a happy squint.

"I think it's funny how you humans think those are such powerful weapons. It is good that you know how to defend yourselves. You will be useful when you become one with my Den, da?"

Fear shuttered down Toris's spine, but he didn't know why. He just had an unexplainable fear of this boy in the scarf.

"Yeah right. We're never, like, ever going to become a gross thing like you!" That was about as intimidating as Feliks ever got considering his need to add "like" into every sentence like he was some sort of preteen girl.

"Hey, you're not our target. I'd prefer we didn't have to kill anyone who's not on our hit list so let's just avoid unnecessary bloodshed and walk away peacefully, okay?"

The scarfed boy opened his eyes, but kept smiling.

"I'm sorry, but that's not possible. You see, I need to become stronger, da? I think you'll like living with me." With that, he pulled a broken water pipe from behind his back.

Toris needed no more provocation. He was already scared out of his wits. He let loose the arrow he had strung. It was a warning shot so he purposefully stuck the arrow in front of the vampire-boy.

"This will be fun. Kolkolkolkolkol~"

**Sorry the update took so long. I feel bad for how miserably short my chapters always seem to be so I wanted this one to be longer. I also wrote practically another whole chapter, but it's one for the distant future so you have to be patient before you see it. (I'll give you a hint: it has my two favorite Hetalia characters in it. So that's why.)  
****Let me know if you like the longer or shorter chapters more. This is for you guys after all!  
****I had tons of fun writing for this one! The timeline (or timecircle for those RvB fans out there) is really helping me keep on track! There are so many characters in this one! Yays! I'm glad that I finally introduced some named vampires into my vampire!AU story. About time, hu? It'll get more interesting as the story goes on and the action starts happening.  
****I'm going with two different time periods with a huge time-skip in between them. I'm also trying to stick kind of with the Hetalia storyline in places. Meaning that Lithuania and Poland are a powerful commonwealth, and Gilbert would technically still be the Tutonic Knights. That kind of thing. (Just a friendly reminder: there aren't any romantic pairings besides a possible GilbertxElizabeta that I promise won't be a huge focus.)  
****Okay, I'm gonna just see if anyone got the reference I made with Gilbert and Elizabeta in that instead of Prussia thinking Hungary was a boy that Gilbert thought Elizabeta was a human. I thought I was being kind of clever. XD**

**Anyway, thanks for reviewing, faving, and alerting!  
Review if you so desire!**

**Looking forward to it!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry that I haven't updated this in a while. I'm finally on Christmas break so I should be able to update much more frequently. And, I also apologize because this chapter is kinda short. However, I already have a good deal of the next chapter already written. **

**MemoriesOfTheFlame -Thank you so much for the wonderful review! I'm honored you enjoy my story so much!  
****Ana Braginski Serbia - I really like your idea except I might have to switch who's a vampire in your equation. I hope you're not ****disappointed, but I've had this scene with Lithuania in my head for some time now. I do like the idea of possible BelarusxLithuania though. I've started to become more fond of that pairing.  
Also, thank you to floraida and Myrna Maeve for faving!  
**

The vampire wasn't very quick, but, man, did he make every move count. It was tantalizing the way that he waited until absolutely necessary to block and go on the attack. With every banter of metal to metal and arrow it was like struggling in quicksand. Each attempt the two hunters made just seemed to force them farther into the strangling grip of the smiling, scarved vampire.

Toris started to lose his cool. His attacks became more frantic and less coordinated. His aim became completely unreliable, and his heart threw itself into a frenzy of palpitations in an attempt to free itself from his chest –refusing to go down with the ship.

Feliks was as even-headed as ever. Actually, air-headed was a more appropriate description considering the fact that split-ends riled him into a hissy fit. He didn't seem at all intimidated but, rather, bored by the vampire that caused such atypical panic in his friend.

Toris's mind jumped in desperation to the two hunters he'd seen before. Could he call out for help? Doubt laughed as it reminded him of how long ago the other two hunters had departed and how he and Feliks had been forced in the opposite direction over the course of the fight –if you could even call it that. "Fight" implied that both parties could hold their own. That was not so. Even with numbers being on the side of the hunters, they were outmatched in every way –physically, skillfully, and psychologically.

When the smiling vampire knocked Felik's sword out of his hand, Toris's premonitions had been confirmed. They were going to lose.

The purple-eyed vampire tripped Feliks pretty hard who was now scrambling pathetically on his belly under the heavy boot of the fanged beast.

"Kol kol kol~" He purred with a sort of finality, as he found great amusement in the blonde boy's futile struggle.

He knelt down, foot still pinning Toris's friend to the earth, and pushed the hair away from the back of his neck. He started to lean in and opened his mouth to let his fangs glisten in the early morning sun.

Toris was frozen. He had fired all his arrows, but, even if he had any, he'd probably still question his aim. However, he still had one weapon left. The odds were on his side that his hail Mary would work, but the cautiousness that Feliks joked defined Toris writhed within his conscience.

Toris pushed that part of him aside. If it would save his best friend, the one he'd grown up with, trained with, shared many a boyhood adventure with, he'd do it.

Digging his heels into the ground, he, with a running leap, threw himself at the vampire, tackling him off his blonde friend. They rolled over each other a couple times (it appeared Toris didn't know his own strength) before they came to a stop.

The brunette never thought himself a hero. That opinion didn't change even after the stunt he pulled. He was still quaking with terror at the sight of the vampire, but he did find some strength within him to protect a friend he considered a brother.

He pulled the scarf down from the vampire's mouth, looking his worst fear square in the face. Narrowing his thin, brown brows, he commanded in whatever voice he could squeak out, "Smile, you blood-sucking abomination!"

He happily agreed and revealed his sparkling fangs.

Before Toris could think better of it, he shoved his own forearm up into the pointed, dagger-like teeth. He let out a small cry of pain as the fangs penetrated his skin, ripping them out promptly after making sure some blood made its way down the vampire's throat. He leaped back to aid the blonde who still lay on the ground. Toris was still trying to get his heartbeat back to a normal tempo, but he didn't plan on sticking around here just to watch the vampire die of poisoning.

"Feliks, are you okay?" He said, as he knelt down beside his friend.

"I don't know," he groaned in pain.

Toris looked him over. His ankle was bent at a funny angle. No doubt it was sprained at the least.

"Do you think you can make it?"

"I don't know. I, totally, just had these nails done, like, last week! Now they're, like, totally ruined!" Feliks cried, as he showed the brunette his hand with now chipped nails.

Toris tried to laugh, but looking at Feliks's hand make him dizzy. He was unable to focus and his vision lied to him that there were three semi-transparent hands waving in front of him.

An icy jump in his heart made him freeze, afraid to turn around.

No.

There was about a one in eight chance! The probability, the statistics! They were all on his side! Everything was gunning in his favor -except for luck.

He slowly dragged his spinning head around to look behind him. Instead of seeing a dead vampire like he expected, he saw a rather happy, smiling vampire standing not five inches from him.

"If you wanted to become one with my den so badly, why didn't you say so, da?"

Toris couldn't even cry out in surprise as his whole body stiffened and became numb. He crumbled to the ground, his head spinning and his consciousness flickering. He could barely move his eyes, but he hoped his friend would get the hint. Feliks needed to do something, and he needed to do it now!

"I will carry you for now, but when you get your strength back you will walk on your own." The purple-eyed monster picked up Toris and slung him over his shoulder almost effortlessly.

Toris mutely pleaded for Feliks to take advantage of the vampire's vulnerable state. He was unable to move very fast and his whole back was turned to him. Why wasn't he doing anything about it?

"Like, when I get back, I'll totally tell the Guild to, like, put you on the "Protected" list or something, 'kay! See ya when I see ya, Tori!"

Those were the last words Toris heard before the darkness consumed his vision and blanked out his consciousness. He wondered with his last stray thoughts if they would be the last friendly words he'd ever hear again since he was now doomed to a life subordinate to this horrid monster that held him appropriately captive as the prisoner he was.

Traveling with incredible endurance, the purple-eyed vampire marched on at a consistent pace, not betraying the appearance of being hindered at all by the burden on his shoulder if he was at all.

He smiled to himself. He didn't normally find himself an audience to smile with as a normal person would. He was rather used to being alone given that he was a vampire by nature and unsociable by disposition. However, he had a feeling this new, zealous comrade he added would serve him well –with the appropriate training of course.

He began to happily plan the changes, he thought of them as improvements, that would be in needed in his life as he officially became a Den leader today when he felt a slight disturbance in the atmosphere that many assumed he did not read at all. They were fools, of course, because he was actually quite sensitive to it, but little changed about his actions regardless of what the atmosphere told him.

Clinging smartly to the shadows of the trees hung aloof a character the scarf-wearing vampire had the pleasure of knowing only by reputation. The two stopped, both sizing the other up. Their intentions were masked -one by his too-calm smile and the last by a literal, white mask that covered the immediate area around his eyes and rested on the bridge of his nose.

The only words that were spoken were disyllabic as their only purpose was to confirm their speculations of the identity of the opposing figure.

"Ivan." The scarf-bearer.

"Turkey." The mask-wearer.

The atmosphere continued to read that nothing had changed between the two as the stalemate did not cease that simply.

Both were Den leaders. One much younger to the title than the other as evidenced by the load he carried on his shoulder. However, both were not to be trifled with.

Satisfied with the amount of time spent and knowledge gained from the tense impasse, Ivan adjusted his scarf and walked on. He gave the other vampire a wide berth out of respect, and they both disappeared in opposite directions amongst the long slivers of shade the trees provided.

**I really worked at nailing Poland's personality because, honestly, with his verbal tics it's pretty easy to make anything _sound_ Poland-y but it's hard to make him _act_ Poland-y, especially when, at this point, (although it just ended) he was a power to be reckoned with.  
****I'm sorry if Lithuania seems a bit OOC. I didn't like writing him as completely scared out of his mind, but that's how he's portrayed when he's part of the Soviet Union. (I'm not that great at history to know how the Soviet Union was formed and if Lithuania was one of the first to join or not. I might have to do some research. XD)  
I did like writing for Russia though. I he's just so twistedly happy. Yays~  
I did make there be almost no dialogue for Turkey on purpose because he's probably one of the characters (and countries) I know about the least. I didn't want to guess. The only reason he's in there at all is for Hungary.**

**There will be a slight timeskip spanning between this chapter and the next chapter. Six years or so? **

**Thank you everyone for your reviews and favs! I'm so thankful for your support and positive feedback!**

**Looking forward to it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz. **

**Thank you to amichalap for faving my story! **

Armed with his constant frown as well as a few other firearms, Vash finally made it to the edge of the woods. He didn't relax but felt his chest uncoil some as he saw his house. It stood as defiant and stubborn as if it were in fact Vash himself but in house form.

Hands burdened by sacks full of provisions, he made for the structure. Food and other necessities were the only reasons that could ever drag the blonde man from his fortress of solitude.

It had been storming something fierce on the way which made him regret not patching up the holes in the roof. He was sheltered as he traveled from most of the elements because they had been buffered by the dense forest he trekked through, but, now the storm had died down considerably. This was good because, now that he was in the open field that carpeted like a moat around his house, he would have been blown around like a piece of angry, blonde parchment.

After unlocking the door and relocking it with finality, he placed the sacks of foodstuff in the kitchen to survey the damage. He was frugal to say the least, which meant he had little confidence in the worn sacks he carried the food in to have provided much protection. He grimaced when he found half of his newly-purchased bread loaf would have to be thrown away before it molded from the moisture that soaked through but that seemed to be the sum of the casualties.

He felt the weariness setting in. It was late, not to mention the storm and the amount of small talk he'd had to engage in. He was absolutely exhausted.

He made his way up the creaky staircase and felt the wind gusting into the house with the wood groaning in protest to being disturbed. He sat on the bed that squeaked harshly at the sudden weight like an elderly person's joints. Reflecting that the bed probably was old enough to be considered elderly in human years, Vash could only sigh.

Although he was stingy, he could already feel it was only a matter of time before his ribs started to show for it. Saving money was something he was taught to value, but, his hermit tendencies prevented him from making any money to be frugal with.

He'd already sold the old, grand piano to Roderich. It matched well with everything else in that foolish brunette's new manor. Ever since his childhood friend received the inheritance of his mother's passing, Roderich had been set for the rest of his

life. He left being a Hunter at much to the general public's relief. He, instead, became another profiteer off vampire serfdom. Last Vash heard, he had two or three vampire servants that took care of his property in exchange for blood as their payment. It was a mutually beneficent system that had managed to almost eliminate the need for Hunters or the Guild in their entireties. Almost.

Because most vampires had submitted themselves to lives of servitude, rogue or wild vampires were becoming increasingly rarer but increasingly feared. They were forced into Dens if they refused to become a servant out of protection. These produced few but powerful Dens of sizes no one had ever seen before. They gave each other good tracts of breathing room to hunt, but that didn't mean they didn't clash. Most of the action happened far from here though.

A whimpering that wasn't caused by any decaying part of his house sounded from just behind him. Jumping up quickly as he drew his gun, he found it aimed at a small girl wrapped up in his bed. He lowered it in absolute refusal to kill a child even if she was an intruder to his home.

He saw she huddled herself, making a frame as small as possible. She gripped the blankets to her in her fists like they were the source of her life. Her blonde hair was done in two, long, messy, straw-blonde braids. Even from here it was clear she was burning with a fever –her flushed face and shivering flesh made it impossible to overlook it.

Vash walked over to the other side of the bed, the one that she was facing. His hand never left his gun, but his grip laxed on it.

"Hey," he said flatly. He didn't intend to scare the girl to death. It seemed her illness was already trying to take care of that.

Her eyelids flew open and her body froze when she inhaled sharply. Her eyes were an interesting blue-green and seemed much too big for her face. Perhaps that was just the way they sunk into her skull from obvious lack of nutrition.

"Are you alright," he asked her, shocking himself when he didn't ask his intended question: 'What are you doing here?'

She didn't say anything, but strained to keep looking up as her eyelids began to fail her, sickness robbing her of any energy she had. Her mouth hung open to help her breathe when her nose failed to do the job adequately. That's when Vash saw them, the two fangs. They were small because she was young, but they were unmistakable.

He was almost shocked at seeing a vampire this close that hadn't been trying to kill him. It had been much to Vash's relief that, since Roderich had given up Hunting, he had seen only the occasional vampire dart across his property from time to time. Since almost no humans had any reason to visit, he'd practically reached his goal of isolation. Of course it was only too early to celebrate.

His common sense urged him to get it over with quickly. She was in obvious suffering, she was an invader of his home, and she could be a threat to his very humanity. However, his heart, for what others may have argued was the first time, argued stronger. She was so small and weak. She was cripplingly sick. She was at his absolute mercy.

That's when Vash found himself applying a cold compress to her forehead and wrapping her in all the blankets he had. Before he could argue with himself further, he asked her, "What are you?"

She gave him a confused look before pointing a shaking hand to her fangs.

"I know that. What _blood type_ are you?"

She shivered and buried herself in the covers as she shook her head. She either didn't know or refused to tell him and accept his help. Well, he made a ludicrous decision to take care of this strange vampire girl, and he knew how to handle stubborn-ness. After all, no one was more stubborn than him.

Sighing loudly, he drew out his boot knife and pricked his finger. A small drop of blood bubbled up and he shoved it to her nose. She backed away from the sudden movement, but, on instinct, licked it up eagerly like a baby to milk. Vash was alarmed as it seemed she didn't try to smell it first, but, seeing as she didn't die within the following seconds, he must have been her matching type. It was then that Vash knew his decision was something possible and maybe even meant to happen.

This girl was his new charge, and he would see to it that she was taken care of and raised as well as he could manage.

He found an old, empty spice jar and went to work at filling it for her. When he was finished, he fed it to her in small spoonfuls. As this continued in the next hours, he managed to get her to talk. She confirmed his suspicions that she didn't have parents and that she was very recently turned. She was a street orphan making her an easy target for a vampire. He also got her name, Lili. He thought it was a beautiful name that fit her perfectly.

"My name is Vash Zwingli, and I will be taking care of you from now on."

"Like a big brother?" Her big eyes fluttered as sleep began to claim her, gently this time.

"Yes. You will be my little sister."

"I'd like that, big brother."

When Lili had been resting, Vash went to work finding how the girl had managed to break into his house in the first place. While he made an exception for her, he had a feeling he wouldn't be as fond of any other uninvited guests.

With his house practically rotting off its foundation, it probably wasn't that hard to find a way inside. He found what he suspected to be the point of entry. It was a window in one of his side rooms that never did shut right. He had wooded shutters that closed in front of it, but they weren't exactly a stone wall of protection. At least it hid the fact the window was always kind of open from the average passerby. He'd fix it later, but, in the meantime, went out the back door and around to close the shutters again.

As he roughly closed the wooden panels, he saw someone sauntering along the edge of his property. Lanky brunette boy. He recognized him as one of Roderich's vampiric servants. He was absolutely drenched from the rain that had been falling steadily even since the storm had passed. He knew the boy was probably meaning no harm, but he was dawdling on his property longer than Vash liked.

"Hey, you! Get off my land!" he yelled, firing a warning shot into the air before he thought of sleeping Lili and regretted it.

The boy jumped and ran flailing his arms and screaming apologies as he fled back in the direction he came and into the woods.

The boy ran all the way back to his master's house, practically collapsing on the porch. The noise of the exhausted boy must have been heard from inside the house as the door was opened by a lovely lady with long, flowing brunette hair that was tied back in a green bandana.  
"Oh, Feli! What's wrong?" She said, as she squatted down for the young boy to run into her arms. He did so with no delay as he slumped his head on her shoulder still trying to catch his breath.

"I was walking there like I was supposed to, and I went by the scary house! There was this guy there, and he started yelling and shooting a gun, a-and I got so scared that I ran all the way back! It was really scary, Miss Elizabeta!"

"He shot at you?!"

"N-not _at_ me. Just…the sky."

The woman would have laughed if it were not for the young boy asphyxiating her in a hug. She drew herself up and walked him back in the house, shutting the door quietly.

"Who is it, Miss Elizabeta?"

"Just Feliciano, sir. He's back."

"Ah. That was sooner than expected. Very well. Come here, boy."

Elizabeta gave Feliciano an encouraging shove toward the hallway while she went he opposite direction to continue preparing dinner.

The boy, only about ten, poked his head in to the music room where he could always find his master. He was unsure of how to explain it to him that he didn't complete his job. He didn't want him to be mad.

Shuffling his feet so that it would take as long as possible to reach his destination, he walked into the room with his head down and hands playing with the tail of his shirt.

The man was sitting amongst a landslide of sheet music that cascaded off the piano in a pile of key signatures and melody runs.

"Master Roderich?" he said timidly, afraid to break the concentration of his master's pen upon the blank staves he was filling with a music code the boy was unable to read.

He had to repeat his question a second time before his master gave any sign he heard him.

"O-oh! Yes. Feliciano! Come sit down and listen to this. I think I've finally settled on the key I like, however, I'm still wondering if it would sound more mysterious in a minor."

The boy happily flopped down, letting his funny curl that sprouted behind his left ear bounce in tandem. However, he still felt burdened to relay his failed mission to his master.

"Sir, I think you should know that I didn't deliver the message like you told me to."

"That's fine, boy. Now shhh! Listen!" He hushed his servant as he probably wouldn't have cared if the message was instead, 'Your house is on fire!' The music occupied the front part of his brain right now and nothing else mattered when he was in this sort of musical trance.

The melody swallowed the pianist whole as his hands danced on the keys gently, hitting them with just enough pressure to cause the note to resonate. The large, open room was kind to the instrument and projected the sound like an amphitheater. Sometimes, when Roderich was playing certain pieces, it seemed the room would vibrate with the music taking everyone standing within the room captive by it.

He played the first version of his work that made Felicano want to draw pictures of butterflies in a grassy field. The second version brought water melting off icicles to his mind. He did his best to lock the mental images in his brain so he could paint them later. Master Roderich had just brought several new canvases for him to encourage the boy's aspiring artist dreams.

When the pianist stopped playing, he allowed a second or two of silence for the last resonating notes to reverberate off the walls before turning to the boy again.

"Which did you like better?"

"Um, I liked them both very much, Master Roderich."

"Oh, come now. I can't very well use both in the song. I must have a decision! The song is about someone getting lost in a fairy world. Which seemed more, I don't know, fae-like?"

The boy was still trying to contemplate how he envisioned a fairy world to be like when a voice interrupted him.

"I like the minor version. The major key just sounds too…stroll in the afternoon sun where the minor is much more enveloping and mysterious. I just adore the descending chromatics in the fourth stanza. That was genius! I could even see it being repeated as the theme of a fugue, can't you, sir?"

Both males turned around to see Miss Elizabeta standing in the doorway, stirring ladle in hand.

Roderich smiled.

"Thank you, Miss Elizabeta! That's exactly what I needed! Minor it is! The fugue is a marvelous idea by the way!" He then furiously scratched more shapes onto the musical canvas as Feliciano got up to continue his chores.

"Dinner's almost ready, sir."

"You know, Elizabeta, you should be a musician. You have such a refined ear for music!"

"Only because I learned from the best, sir." She chuckled softly to herself, remembering all the times she was asked to critique her master's pieces. The music language was something she'd either have to figure out and appreciate or go mad. Some sort of musical instrument was always being played in this house. He was talented with every apparatus he touched whether it be brass, woodwind, string, percussion, or even simply his voice. Although, the piano was his one true favorite.

"I'll set the dining room, and it will be ready whenever you are." She left the man to his devices as he hummed to himself. He probably didn't hear a single word she said, but he would eat when the music would let him. There was nothing Elizabeta could do to rough him out of his state.

The doorbell chimed again, and Elizabeta went to answer it once more. This time she found herself in front of another boy who, if she didn't know any better, she would have mistaken for Feliciano. She observed a similar curl, but this one jumped out to the right and off his part near his forehead unlike Feli's, but, other than that, they were identical.

"Took you long enough." Huffed the boy angrily, as he shoved his way inside.

Oh, and there was the attitude difference as well.

"Feli! Come see who's here!" she called, before shutting the door to keep the bugs out.

"FRATELLOOOOOO~!" The boy seemed to sense it as he charged down the staircase and tackled his brother to the ground.

"Get off me, stupid! I like breathing!" He squirmed under his brother's identical form.

Elizabeta stifled a chuckle at the thought that Lovino could _like_ anything. He was a constant cloud of anger and frustration that darkened any room on a sunny day. He could be sweet if he wanted to, Feli swore up and down, but she had never been an eyewitness to such a historical event. Feliciano's undying love for his sibling was the only reason she was able to stand the child at all.

"I missed you too!" Feli smiled as he gave his brother one final crushing hug before bowing to his twin's wishes, allowing him to breathe once more.

"I'm here because stupid Tony sent me. He wanted me to walk forever out in the freaking freezing rain so I could catch a cold by trying to deliver this stupid message to Roderich."

"Lovino, be considerate! Your master takes good care of you and you know it! Would it kill you to show him some respect?" Elizabeta said harshly.

She and Lovino had a never-ending battle of wills before the twin was sold to work for Master Roderich's friend, Master Antonio Carriedo. She had to wonder if part of the reason he was so strong-willed was because he learned how to argue from her.

"Yeah, it'll kill me if I'm lucky! Then I won't have to be his freaking slave all the freaking time! I'm probably gonna die of a cold I probably caught walking in the rain all freaking day to get here!"

Elizabeta threw her hands up in surrender. She couldn't deal with this and left the two boys there while she went to the kitchen to tend to the last dinner preparations.

"Ve~! I'll take you to Master Roderich so you can deliver the message!"

Feli dragged his frowning sibling back to the music room where the man was organizing the pages that were scattered about in his musical inspiration.

**I just love writing for Switzerland. Have I mentioned that before? He's so cynical and ****quirky and great! Who doesn't love "Big Brother"?  
MusicObsessed!Austria is also really fun to write too. Kudos for all those music geeks out there that actually understand all the music terminology. All those years of being in band weren't put to waste! (I play oboe and alto saxophone for those who are curious.)**

**Because there's no cursing in my stories, Romano's mouth will not need a warning. I think I can make him an ungrateful brat without having to drop the f-bomb in every sentence of his dialogue. (Okay, he's not really an ungrateful brat, but he acts like it alot.)I also wondered, since the only scene with Romano in Austria's house is the two seconds before he is given to Spain, how would he and Hungary have gotten along when they were both living at Austria's? I see her as the kind of person that wouldn't put up with his sass. Just speculation and a little headcanon. **

**I have the next few chapters mostly done already because of a little inspiration I had a while back. I think I mentioned when I was writing it in the author's note of the second chapter. It won't be the next chapter but the ones after that will be those chapters -they will have my two favorite characters in it. Although, as I'm thinking about it, I really don't particularly dislike any of the Hetalia characters. You'd think I'd at least dislike the character that is a parody of the country I live in, but, actually, I'm rather fond of America. Especially since they "gave" him a great backstory with the Revolutionary War episodes. Anyway, I'll be able to update this story rather quickly if need be. **

**The next chapter will have some PruHun and brother fluff/angst. You'll understand. **

**Thanks to everyone who has faved/alerted/reviewed my story! You guys are the bestest! **

**Review if you so desire.  
Looking forward to it. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this one took so long. I honestly had most of this done, but the last paragraphs were really challenging for some reason. I can write angst like nothing else, but, when they have to make up later, the transition is like pulling teeth for me. *shrugs***

**Big thankies to the two that reviewed:**  
**Myrna Maeve -I know, right? I love these two siblings so much! They're such complete opposites, it's beautiful! Especially Vash's character in general. XD**  
**Guest -Aw! You make me smile! Thank you so much!**  
**And also a thank you to all who added my story to their alert! I am honored!**

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Hidakazu Himaruya.**

"Hello, Lovino. It is nice to see you again."

"Yeah, whatever. Here," he held out Master Antonio's letter to his old master.

The musician took it and read it slowly, his purple eyes still adjusting to reading words instead of music notes.

"Oh. This is embarrassing. I already wrote to Antonio about this matter in the letter I sent with Feliciano to deliver. You two must have just passed each other on the way. How unfortunate," he smiled, as Lovino started to fume.

"Um, sir?" the small twin said with a fanged angelic smile, "I never did end up delivering that letter to Master Antonio. I tried to tell you…"

"Oh, well, then just give that letter to your brother. He can deliver it when he returns to his master, right boy?" Oblivious as ever to the angry twin's attempt to shoot bullets out of his eyes.

The darker haired vampire twin snatched the folded parchment from his brother's coat pocket, and stomped out of the room without even saying goodbye. Feli followed submissively as far as the front door where he gave his brother one final hug and advising him not to go by the scary house on his way back.

"I do what I want, Feli! You're not the boss of me, stupid! I'm outta here!"

With that, he wrangled himself from his twin's loving grasp and marched off into the rain, still furious that he wouldn't have had to come all the way there if Feliciano had just gone sooner. The rain only made his curl droop and teased him into an even more foul mood. He pretended not to hear his brother's many goodbyes, but he was secretly thankful for them, just like everything else.

He found himself approaching the scary house that Feli warned him about. Just because his little brother told him not to, he sauntered across the property. Lovino was never known for his courage, but he was known for being a defiant pain in the butt. As he walked, the house began to loom ever spookier. He maintained his composure until he thought he saw a figure shifting behind one of the windows. Pride abandoned, the brunette, vampiric, servant boy bolted off the lawn as fast as he could.

He was drenched and downright exhausted when he reached the Carriedo Manor, his prison. Kicking around in the mud the rain had mixed in the front lawn for a minute or two to make sure his boots were thoroughly caked in filth, he tracked through as many rooms of the manor as possible "looking" for his master even though he seemed to always be in the same room. After he found that most of the mud had worn off, he finally walked to the kitchen.

"Lovino! You're back! I made you some churros- oh! Lovi! _¡Mira!_ Look what you've done to the floor!"

The boy looked behind himself, playing dumb, and turned back with an innocent face.  
"Oh. I must have forgotten to wipe my feet off before I came in." The innocent smile quickly turned into an unabashed, fanged smirk as he walked up to a table that bared a plate of hot churros he planned to devour.

"And I'm expecting guests today, Lovi!" the green-eyed master held the bridge of his tanned nose in quiet contemplation before shrugging it off and smiling again.

"It's alright. You'll clean it later, _sí_?"

"Yeah. And you get that impression from _which_ of the times I've ever done anything you've asked?" he mumbled with his mouth full of tasty Spanish cuisine, although he would never admit it to the joyful man.

"Lovi, I- Oh! I think they're here!" The too-happy master ran over to the door which had been opened by one of Antonio's weird friends.

Lovino heard the particular accents of the guests and immediately headed for the hills, with the rest of the churros in hand of course.

"Ohon hon hon hon! Look 'ow big Lovi is now!"

The boy tried to make a run for it, but Francis was just too fast, pulling him into a hug.

"Get off me! Let me go, you moron! Put me down! I hate you so much!"

"He's just a little awesome ball of joy still, isn't he, Toni? Kesesese!" Gilbert teased as he saw Antonio force a smile.

"Why are you all wet, Lovi? Were you outside in ze rain?"

"Yeah! Because _that_," he pointed an accusing finger at his master, "freaking moron decided it would be a freaking great idea for me to deliver his stupid message in the middle of a freaking thunderstorm!"

"I sent you out_ after _the storm was over, and the message was quite urgent. Did Roderich have a reply for me?"

"Yeah. Here,_ idiota_." He dug out the limp parchment that was practically deteriorating because the messenger had clearly not kept the parcel out of the elements.

Antonio accepted it with a defeated, tired look.

"_Va._ Go get changed into dry clothes, Lovi. Go ahead and grab some blood on your way up and please don't spill it! I'm going to talk to these two for a while."

Francis finally put the boy down, and the little brunette promptly ran up the stairs and to the recesses of the house.

Antonio sighed loudly as he brought the sad, damp letter to his face. He opened it and unfolded it, leaving it to dry so he could attempt to read it later assuming that was still possible.

"How do you stand him, Toni?" Gilbert followed his friend back into the kitchen where he was sure he could snag a few snacks.

"It's children like those that make me never want to start my own manor," sighed Francis.

"Oh, it's not always that bad." Antonio tried to convince himself as well. "Besides, I think you would be _un bueno_ master, Francis."

"Really?" The blonde's blue eyes brightened.

"_Ja_! You'd be awesome!"

"_Merci_! I was giving it some thought because I'm not sure I would…um…"

"Be awesome at much else?"

"_Oui_. Not exactly 'ow I was going to word it, Gilbert, but, close enough." The blonde retied his hair behind his head in a low ponytail before continuing. "I'm just not sure I'm cut out for it, you know?"

"No, we really think you'd be good at it! You have a big enough house with a decently large income. You could most certainly do it!"

"Well, thank you."

"Hey, Toni. Vhat vas the unawesome letter about?" Gilbert asked, munching on pilfered food he found in various cupboards and shelves of his friend's kitchen.

"Oh, it was from Roderich regarding Lovino and Feliciano, his twin _hermano_."

"Oh, _ja_. I forgot that Lovino vas part of a set. How's Roderich's manor doing, by the vay?"

"_No s__é__._ I assume fine," Antonio shrugged.

"_Non_, _mon ami._ Ask what you really want to ask," Francis smirked slyly.

"Vhat do you mean?" the albino flashed his red eyes as if the blonde was threatening him instead of suggesting.

"You could care less about ze piano lover. You only care for 'is maid."

"Okay, fine! I vant to know if Elizabeta's doing okay! Is that an unawesome

crime or something?" Gilbert snapped defiantly, while mumbling more in angry German under his breath.

Antonio laughed, "_Bien_, as far as I know, everyone at Roderich's manor is doing

well."

"Why don't you just go visit 'er?"

"Because…I…I…"

"Ohon hon hon hon. You should just go confess your love already. This "distant romantic" act will not work forever."

_The sun beat so hard on the clearing, you could hear it calling out, "Uncle! Uncle!" All creatures retreated to the shadows in attempt to escape some of the sun's wrath. The man was feeling the punishment of the rays wear red on his flesh. His skin was crying out in protest, begging for mercy or a quick death, so he had no choice but to duck into the forest. He would have to adjust his route slightly to include the forest edge, but that wouldn't put a dampen on his spirit. Clearly the sun was jealous of the amount of awesome he produced which he was certain, if properly harnessed, could power several suns. It was only natural to be jealous to such purely-concentrated awesome. _

"_You can't hope to defeat me, sun! I am the fabulous being of awesomeness and awesome-nocity! Just surrender before I am forced to unleash my supremacy upon you!" He commanded, already feeling the stifling heat trying to silence him from further blasphemy. _

"_If I were you, I wouldn't egg it on. Unless you somehow stopped being an albino from last I saw you."_

_Gilbert jumped about three feet in the air as he frantically drew his sword. It was considered primitive, but it was still his weapon of choice. _

"_W-who's there! Show yourself, coward!" He commanded._

"_I'm just behind this tree if you want to come see me for yourself."_

_The whole thing screamed "trap", but it was the familiar voice that motivated his feet to move in counter to his common sense. He wandered deeper into the forest, his skin thanking him as the shadows became more dense._

_He rounded the corner to come face to face with none other than Elizabeta. She was sitting against a tree with her long, brown hair much longer than he remembered draping off her shoulders and lacing with the taller plants that grew around her. She opened her sage eyes and gave her signature smirk in which she kept her lips pursed so no one could see her fangs._

"_Hey, Gilbert," she croaked out. Gilbert stiffened as he noticed that she probably wasn't sitting there on her own accord._

"_You're hurt," he stated. "Let me help you." _

"_No! I'm just fine, thank you very much! I won't be needing any help."_

_Gilbert chuckled as he was warmed by memories he'd almost forgotten about this fiery and stubborn lady he'd gone hunting with all those years ago._

"_No, you're obviously hurt. Who did this to you?" He knelt down and brought her arm around his shoulders to help her to a stand. She hissed as she was lifted into a stray ray of sunshine that managed to weave its way this far into the forest. Gilbert quickly lowered her back to the ground. _

"_Turkey and his Den," she spat._

"_Vhat?!" Gilbert was shocked. She was _still _trying to kill him! He thought back to the last of their many attempts as a duo to try to defeat Turkey. After managing to escape with their lives (and for Gilbert, his humanity as well), he thought he convinced Elizabeta to give up on it. It just wasn't working. He thought Elizabeta finally let it go because she never called him back for any more assistance after they finally parted ways that day. Gilbert took that as a good sign, but, how many years ago was that?! She was still searching for Turkey the entire time! He felt terrible not knowing that she was risking her life in almost attempted suicide. _

"_I'm done pretending now. I think it's high time I moved on and started acting like a freaking vampire."_

_Gilbert didn't know whether to be happy or sad. He never wanted to see Elizabeta this miserable and hopeless, but he did want her to start taking care of herself and face the reality of what she was._

_Without another thought he tore off his cloak he was forced to wear whenever he was outside and unceremoniously threw it at her. He was now only in a light shirt and pants now, and he knew he was gonna need to take a bath in aloe after this day was out, but she would burn far worse than he if she was not properly covered._

"_You can keep it," he said abruptly._

_She remained silent as she fashioned the cloak around herself and drawing up the hood. Gilbert helped her to her feet again as she tried her best to walk unassisted but failed miserably. _

_Gibert took her to the only person he knew he could trust her with. Okay, it wasn't that he trusted him. It was more that he knew he was such a wimp that Elizabeta could totally destroy him if he ever tried to do anything to her. _

_Needless to say, Roderich was very surprised when one of his rivals brought a wounded vampire to his doorstep and entrusted her in his care. He just became the head of a manor due to his inheritance and was looking for vampires to work for him. He least expected Gilbert to help him. _

"_If I hear you've done anything wrong by her, I won't hesitate to take action. Understand?" he said in the most threatening way knew possible: without any mention of the word "awesome." That subtlety alone would strike fear into all who knew him._

_Roderich nodded, still rather confused._

"_Stay safe, Elizabeta." _

_With that, he left._

_He visited occasionally, but never without some sort of official business. He made sure to spill a cup of tea whenever he went though. Anything to get a few moments of conversation with her. _

"How about you stay out of my awesome personal life, _ja_?" Gilbert said, curtly, forcing himself out of the flashback.

Francis just smiled. He knew that Gilbert knew he meant no harm by the comment. He was just speaking his mind.

"Ohon hon hon," he chuckled at the albino's inability to hide a blush, "It was lovely seeing you two again, but I must be off. A certain easily-annoyed blonde awaits my tormenting. I will see you later, _oui_?"

With goodbyes exchanged, Francis headed to the meadow where the aforementioned blonde liked to go when he wanted to be alone –which was all the time. Of course, Francis couldn't help but impede on his privacy. It was just too fun to see Arthur freak out.

He spotted his target exactly where he predicted he would be. Maybe Arthur thought that since he knew his most favorite older brother was out today, he wouldn't have time to come interrupt his solitude. Well, he thought wrong.

"'ello, _Monsieur_ Caterpillar-brows," he snatched he brother up from where he was sitting and into a crushing hug. "'ow are we zis afternoon!" He made sure to use as many French words as well as English words that had "h's" in them because using a language he knew his brother didn't know and abusing the language he did speak with improper pronunciation annoyed the boy like nothing else.

"Francis! If you don't put me down immediately, I will strangle you with your own hair!"

"Your words 'urt me enough, _mon cher_! You need not. And my gorgeous locks are not nearly long enough for you to strangle me with. It's just ze fashion you so adamantly choose to ignore!"

"Oh, don't underestimate me! I'll find a way! Now put me down!"

"Okay." Francis smirked, still not relinquishing his hold on the boy, as he walked to the dock on the edge of the pond they stood beside.

Arthur's eyes widened as he began to struggle with a new vigor and plead, "No! No! No! Francis! Stop! NO!"

Finally at the edge of the dock, he, with a grunt of strength, swung the poor boy and threw him into the pond. The sight was spectacular as Arthur flailed in the air horribly unbecomingly before producing a splash that was absolutely grandiose. Francis couldn't contain his laughter as he doubled over in amusement at his own prank.

The blonde head rose to the surface, but his green eyes were wide with what looked like honest panic.

"F-francis! I c-an't SWIM!" He thrashed around in the water, desperately trying to stay afloat.

Francis rolled his eyes.

"Just stand up! The pond iz, like, three feet deep!"

The boy splashed for a few seconds in disbelief of his older brother, but then, out of desperation, must have tried it as he finally calmed realizing he was now a head above the water.

Francis resumed laughing as the waterlogged kid waded out of the water. Arthur stood on the bank for a full minute trying to calm his breathing before snapping his head to glare at his blonde brother.

Francis was wiping tears from his eyes as he finished his last few chuckles. He barely had time to figure out what was going on before he was thrown to the ground and found a fist was ramming itself into his face over and over.

The older brother tried to grab the soaked boy's fists, but was unable to. He was forced to kicking the thick browed boy off of him which sent him away with a thud. Francis quickly jumped to his feet as he turned to take a defensive stance in case of another onslaught.

His little brother did get up and act like he was going to attack him again, but didn't, instead letting hot tears roll down his face.

"You _know_ I can't swim," he sniffled, "You _know_ it!" He wiped his face off with his already wet sleeve so it only ended up making his whole face moist instead.

Francis felt his own face and tried to decide whether or not his nose was broken. Based on the amount of blood trailing out of it, it was possible.

Granted he knew his actions weren't the epitome of kind. He must have scared the poor boy much more than he thought. However, his head was absolutely throbbing now, and it prevented him from feeling much sympathy for the drenched blonde.

"Well, you 'ave to learn sometime, black sheep!"

The boy stiffened at the comment. Francis knew that was the epitome of insults to him, and he hoped it hurt as much as his broken nose did.

Thick-browed Arthur balled up his hands into shaking fists as a waterfall of tears poured down from his emerald green eyes.

"I hate you," he stated, simply before rushing off into the woods. Probably back to his house.

"…Ouch."

It was rather late when Francis heard a knock on the entrance to his manor. A servant beat him to the mahogany door, as was her job. She was human, and Francis knew she would be rather embittered by his possibility of becoming a vampiric estate. It would force her out of a job. She would find work somewhere else though. He would send her off with a good recommendation. Francis wasn't worried.

"Um, Sir. It's…Arthur," she called, announcing at just the proper volume. Somehow she seemed to know exactly where he was in the house at all times.

Francis was genuinely confused as to what would possess the boy to come at such a time. If he knew his brother like he though he did, he wasn't here to apologize.

Arthur, keeping his frown etched deep into his face, played with the sleeves of his shirt awkwardly and not making eye contact as he walked into the parlor Francis was sitting in.

"My brothers came home tonight," he said, quietly.

"And you need somewhere to stay?"

The boy nodded as if the very action was painful.

Francis couldn't decide if he was still mad at the small blonde so he kept his expression neutral as he motioned for his little brother to take a seat. It was a gesture that conveyed the smaller kid was allowed to stay momentarily, but it left the final decision in the air.

The boy was small, as well as small for his age, but he read the atmosphere fairly well. He took the offer to sit and did so quickly. He flopped down on the embroidered couch, taking a throw pillow and hugging it to himself.

The maid locked the door again after she heard Arthur's explanation rather than any official order from her master as her silent command for him to take pity on the poor lad. Francis rolled his eyes. She always did treat him like a child.

He went to the kitchen to pour himself a fresh glass of wine. Upon returning, he saw Arthur had not moved and still refused to make eye contact with him. He did notice that the pillow his brother was strangling had two damp spots on the section he held under his chin which didn't take a great detective to deduce the reason.

Francis sat down on the opposing couch and took a long sip of wine which was followed by a long, drawn out exhale.

"I'm sorry." They said as one, shocking each other.

They didn't say anything further.

It was a simple agreement between the two boys who both had egos that rivaled any king. It needed no elaboration.

"So can I stay in the guestroom?"

"_Oui_."

"Thank you." Arthur mumbled angrily into the pillow, thankful but humiliated at asking for help, "When I grow up, I'm not gonna let them boss me around."

"Honhon. I can't picture _mon petit frère_ grown up."

"Well, when I'm bigger, I'm going to go and kick their butts, and make _them_ go sleep in guestrooms!"

"That iz not very nice."

"They're not nice to _me_!" he huffed and squeezed the throw pillow tighter as if to strangle it.

"Well, remember that I will always be zere to make sure you don't get a big 'ead about things. I can just throw you into ze pond again~," he teased.

"I'll be big enough to kick _your_ butt too! I'll have the biggest house and the most servants and I'll be the most powerful person in the _world_!"

"Not if I 'ave anything to say about it!" he announced, before tackling the boy to the ground.

The two boys wrestled around, making quite a mess of the room. The noise brought the maidservant rushing down the stairs, prepared for the worst. There was no way on this green world that she was going to let them beat eachother in _her_ house! She was, instead, looking upon a tickle war that had Arthur in tears from laughter and Francis smiling triumphantly, a disheveled room in the wake of the fight.

She left the room with her hand on her heart. The brothers were so precious. She was glad that they were making the most of their youth before adulthood claimed both of them. Francis was physically an adult at eighteen, but he acted like he was ten –the same age as his young brother. She could only hope that the bond of brotherhood was strong between the two. It was a trying time in which they lived. It was full of extreme poverty and extreme greed. Both boys were born into money even though Arthur might have to wait a while before he inherited any of it. She knew for a fact that wealth corrupted. She really hoped they had sense enough about them to know what was truly valuable and protect it.

Smiling again at the contagious laughter echoing from the room the maid left, and she returned up the stairs to continue cleaning.

**The beginning of Prussia's flashback may be some of the funniest stuff I've posted on here (posted in a ****fanfiction, that is). I loved that part. By the way, the maid wasn't supposed to be any one, just a nameless character to give an outside perspective. **

**Translations:  
¡Mira! -Look!; Spanish  
sí -yes; Spanish___  
_idiota -idiot; Italian (and Spanish)  
Va -Go; Spanish  
un bueno -a good; Spanish  
****Ja -yes; German  
Merci -thank you; French  
****Oui -yes; French  
No sé-I don't know; Spanish  
Non, mon ami -No, my friend; French  
Bien -well; Spanish  
Monsieur -Mister; French  
Mon cher -my dear; French  
Mon petit frère -my little brother; French  
****(That sad moment when you know these already just by reading Hetalia fanfictions.)**  


**The next chapter is also mostly written, but we all know how this one went. I also need to update my Red vs Blue story or I'll feel bad because they've waited very patiently for a new chapter. The next chapter in Hematology, however, will be another time skip. Yay.  
In my AU, Arthur and Francis aren't really brothers, but they sometimes think of each other as brothers. His actual brothers would be Scotland, Wales, and Ireland that are much older than him and pick on him. As we all know how history will pan out, the tables will turn (and little England will debatably go overboard with it). I don't think I'll have them make an appearance other than simply mentions.  
**

**I'm restraining myself from posting more Hetalia fics so I can focus on finishing ones I'm doing now. I really want to get back to the Avatar/Hetalia crossover I started too. The thing is, it isn't helping that I'm taking a history class at college. It_ really_ doesn't help that the title of the class is The Decline and Fall of the British Empire. It's, like, inspiration every three seconds. I have a window of eight wikipedia tabs open from research on the fic I just can't help myself but indulge in. It's an American Civil War fic. Dun dun DUN! My second Hetalia unposted fic is my practice at something fluffy and happy (or, at least, that's what I'm saying it is as an excuse). It's a FACES!siblings, no pairings fic. It's also going to be my exercise at humor writing too. I've been chewing over this same chapter of it whenever I just need something to do. It's pretty awesome. I might post it after I'm done with my main RvB story: And Our Dad Was Leonard Church. Don't worry, I'm planning on working on the RvB/Maximum Ride crossover I started a while ago too for all my RvB fans. I'm just getting bombarded by Hetalia inspiration in school and RvB is still in off season when Hetalia will start up again soon. It just happens that way. **

**Again, thank you so much! Review if you so desire!  
Looking forward to it!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Greetings, Earthlings.  
I have a confession. I have lied to you. *hangs head in shame* I said there would be no OCs, but I am introducing two sort of minor ones now. They won't be in the story for more than a few chapters and are only around for one plot point. As soon as their purpose is served, they will be gone, I promise! If you know some of your Seven Years War history, you might know why they are included. They are very bland and basic OCs, and they won't have very much dialogue after this chapter. Please forgive me for this! I hate OCs so I understand your frustration, but I promise it is for the better good! I'm sorry.**

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz.**

***There's a timeskip between the last chapter and this one by the way.***

The day grew dark early with the thunderclouds gurgling above. Just like his master said, it was the perfect day for an attack. However, the rival bluecoats knew his master's playbook inside and out. No doubt they were waiting for it or at least fully prepared.

Alfred walked through the woods that made grey the line between the two adversaries' territories. His azure eyes were darting efficiently as he was more than accustomed to the absence of light. He liked to think of it as having a superpower and that he was a hero. He only told Matthew of this fantasy he played out in his head. His master would just laugh at him. Well, Mattie did too, but at least he was nice about it.

The teen long ago abandoned the redcoat his master gave him. It wasn't to try to blend in with them. They knew his face too well. They knew he was part of the Kirkland manor. It was just that the flamboyant hue was too easily spotted from a distance. He needed the element of surprise if he was going to pull this off. However, Alfred was chilled by the moist air that needed only the slightest provocation to release its burden of rain. Still, it was either stealth or warmth. He chose stealth. His master was in a sour mood from the recent…theft. There would be no peace in the manor until Alfred got back what was stolen from his master.

Alfred moved slowly, keeping within the shadows as best he could. Finally, he approached the competitor manor. After hearing voices up ahead, the blue-eyed teen pushed himself up against a tree. When the voices silenced, he craned his head around as far as he dared.

Three figures stood in the courtyard. All were dressed in glamorous blue. The smaller one was blonde with a stray curl that rolled in front of his face. Matthew! Alfred smirked. At least he only had two guards around him. Although, looking closer, Alfred's smile drooped as he recognized just who the two guards were: Martinique and Guadeloupe. This was going to be trickier than he wanted it to be if they were both there, but he definitely couldn't go home without Matthew. His master would throw an absolute fit. If he didn't come back with Matthew, he had no reason to come back at all unless Master Arthur had a sudden heart attack of benevolence. However, that was about as likely as him being able to cook anything descent.

Thankfully, there weren't any walls around the courtyard. It was something the master of the blue-garbed ones, Francis, should have probably addressed because it made breaking in so much easier. Past experience told him that he never would because barriers would make his lovely garden _le ugl__é_, or however it was in French.

As if they could sense him abusing their language in his thoughts, the three stiffened and began to look around. He waited until they were back to discussing whatever they were talking about earlier (Alfred didn't know because it was in actual French) then silently crouched down and crawled to stay hidden behind a hedge. Feeling much more animal than normal, he got as close as he could before he made his move. When the hedge would have ended and no longer provided cover, Alfred took a deep breath and leaped out at the three.

Bearing his long fangs, he knocked Martinique to the ground and thrust his arm protectively in front of Matthew and hissed. Vampires don't hiss but, to Alfred, it just seemed appropriate.

Matthew jumped behind a decorative statue to protect himself from the oncoming battle. By this time, Martinique and Guadeloupe had recovered from the initial surprise and taken battle stances to beat back the intruder.

"Hey, dudes! It's my turn to take Mattie back. So, if you wouldn't mind…."

The two guards lunged at him, and the three tumbled together in a wrestling contest. Martinique tried for Alfred's legs while Guadeloupe tried for the arms. At first, the strategy succeeded. They brought the blonde vampire to the ground and pinned him. They smiled their smaller fangs at him as he struggled and writhed to no avail.

"Looks like you lose again, Alfie," Guadeloupe mocked, breathing hard between words.

"Wow, Loupe, your breath smells," the blue-eyed teen teased.

Guadeloupe gritted his fangs and pushed down harder onto Alfred's immobilized arms, crushing them into the rocky ground.

Alfred cried out as he was shocked by how cruel the blue-garbed vampire was being. The game wasn't usually this painful.

"Hey! That hurts!"

"Yeah, well it should! We're sick of this, and we're going to put an end to it! We're strong enough so we're going to capture you! No one said Matthew had to be the only prize won in these stupid fights!"

"What?!" The blue-eyed vampire exclaimed.

"If Arthur doesn't have you, he doesn't have his most powerful pawn. With you on our side, no one will be able to challenge us! There will be no need for this pointless battling between Arthur and Master Francis if one of them is clearly going to win every time!"

"What makes you think I would even want to join your master's manor?"

"We'll persuade you."

Martinique pulled out a dagger from his boot, smirking.

Alfred panicked and started kicking with the foot the rival member vampire had to release in order to unsheathe his weapon. This forced the vampire to release both his feet now in order to dodge the first. Now Alfred could struggle much more effectively, with each toss he came closer to wrenching himself from Guadeloupe's hold.

Martinique got up and walked around to his companion's side. Kneeling down, he took the dagger and made a swift cut on Alfred's arm.

Alfred grunted in pain, but gasped as he realized what their plan was. He writhed with a renewed vigor and managed to rip himself free. He rolled away and brought himself into a battle position breathing hard.

"You can probably already feel your energy leaving you," Martinique threatened. "You claim you're so much stronger than us and that might be true, but you still have one major weakness."

Alfred gritted his teeth as he could feel the blood draining out of the cut. A wobble of lightheadedness already began to strike him, and he clutched his arm in an attempt to stop the blood flow.

"Don't you see, Alfred? This could be over! You won't have to do this anymore if you just walk in that manor. Or you could just black out and we'll carry you."

The three had a stare-down old west style. Neither daring to make the first real move.

"You're right," the blue-eyed vampire panted a moment. "You're right. I am stronger than you!"

With that he dug into his pocked and threw the two objects at the guards. They had no time to react before they were hit with the sleeping darts. The two only had time to rip the projectiles out of their necks before collapsing to the ground.

If Alfred had known in hindsight that the two meant to capture him, he would have used them earlier. However, they had never tried anything close to that magnitude in the past. The sleeping darts were intended to be used if he was attacked by more sinister types than them, particularly anyone who would try to kidnap him into a wild vampire Den.

Alfred swayed slightly before the shy, blonde popped out from behind the statue again.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine if I can carry these guys back to Master Artie's before I pass out."

"W-what?"

"They were right. If one side was clearly going to win, there would be no competition. There would be no fun for the masters in fighting. So you gonna help me or not?" Alfred never liked being terse with Mattie, but he was short on time.

Matthew looked conflicted. He didn't question the logic. It was sound enough. The thing was, no one asked _him_ what manor he would have liked to stay at. He was still only a prize of the rivalry. He had no say in how the game went even when the stakes rose and the rules changed. Submitting himself to his position in life, he decided to help Alfred.

It took all of the two blondes' strengths to bring the two sleeping guards back to Master Arthur's. Matthew just wasn't as strong as Alfred, and Alfred was so close to fainting that he was seeing stars. Alfred finally collapsed at the gate to the mansion, succumbing to seizure-like spasms.

Quickly, Matthew placed the blue-garbed Martinique on the ground and raced for the door. The door was answered by Master Arthur himself who seemed as happy and crazy as a hyena to see him.

"You have to help Alfred!" he said quickly, pointing to the collapsed three on the ground at the end of the property.

Arthur and Matthew ran over to them where Arthur's smile grew like the Grinch's.

"Well, well. Look at all the presents Alfred's brought me! The boy's done excellent! Simply tremendous! …And the frog will be absolutely _furious_! Come, Matthew. Let's bring them in," he chimed, as he picked up Guadeloupe bridal style.

Matthew brought in Martinique as fast as he could so he could return for Alfred and nurse him back to health.

Once Alfred was inside, Matthew laid him down then and there in the entryway, not even bothering to close the door. He bolted downstairs to come back as fast as he could with a bottle of A+ blood. He cradled Alfred's head and fed him the bottle of red liquid. Slowly, Alfred's spasms stopped and he began to come to the point where he could hold the bottle and feed himself.

Matthew wiped the sweat off his forehead and tried to catch his breath –not to mention trying to process what just happened!

"Mattie?" Alfred said, as he flickered his blue eyes open for a moment.

"Yes, Al?"

"Did you hear that? Did you hear what Master Arthur said about me?"

"…Yes, Alfred. I did."

Alfred closed his eyes as he smiled, finished with the bottle.

"He said he was proud of me." The teen had to repeat the words for himself.

With that, Alfred fell asleep, motionless, smiling like he was still a child.  
Matthew remembered when they were children. Whenever Matthew lived in the Kirkland manor, Alfred had always wanted to impress his master.

He rubbed the blue-eyed teen on the back comfortingly, unsure of whether or not he should thank him. Alfred kept smiling but was purring now. While vampires can't hiss, they can purr –just like a house cat.

It seemed that even now Alfred was still trying to win praises from the man who raised him. Thinking back on it, Arthur was the only father figure Alfred ever had. It only made sense that Alfred would think of Arthur as his pseudo-dad even though the man was simultaneously (and more importantly) his master.

"_I guess he my master again, now, eh?"_ he thought to himself, indecisive as to whether he thought that was good or not.

**Finally! The North America bros are here! They are my favorite characters in Hetalia so these next chapters have been written well in advance because I love writing for them.  
****Yay! So this was actually not included for a while, but I felt it needed to be in here. You needed to see Matthew on the French side and Alfred battle to get him back.  
****Okay, so here's the lowdown on what's going on if you need further explanation. England and France are fighting over Canada just for the sake of fighting. It's not completely historically accurate, but it seems like something they would do. They use their vampiric servants as sort of soldiers in these skirmishes. Usually, it isn't violent, but this time it was which is why everything went crazy. If France or England didn't have any servants, they wouldn't be able to play the game. That's why Martinique and Guadeloupe tried to capture America and why America, in the end, captured Martinique and Guadeloupe.  
****So, I have a headcanon that vampires are kind of like cats in a way. So the vampires can purr thing is just something I came up with on the spot. Let I remind you that there are no pairings other than the PruHun. **

**I know this one was kind of short, but I have the next chapter all ready to go. So, theoretically, I could post it whenever if you say pretty please.**

**If you have any questions as to what's going on, feel free to review or PM me. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Also, feel free to just review or fav or alert or anything. You are all amazing!**

**Looking forward to it. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry I didn't update for, like, a month. I'll just chalk it up to the excuses everyone uses: school and laziness. Thanks for sticking with me!**

**Thank you to Bookworm213, mayim, and crazy YinYang writer7 for faving! You guys are awesome!**

**Thank you to betsybugaboo for reviewing! I didn't plan to put in any of the Nordics, but I think I finally have enough of their characters down to put them in a story. I won't promise anything, but I might. :) Thank you for your kind words!**

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz.**

They were at Francis' house again. Alfred nor Matthew understood why. Master Arthur never explained business to them. After all, it wasn't their concern which Master Arthur was sure to repeat as frequently as Alfred asked, which was a lot. Alfred hated being in the dark. Especially when it came to dealing with a rival owner, particularly Francis.

Matthew twitched nervously as the group sat in silence. Alfred offered his iconic, cheesy smile as an attempt to comfort the pale blonde, but Matthew only blinked his blue, almost purple, eyes and turned his attention back to floor. Alfred's smile faded as, frankly, it would be wasted on anyone else in the room.

The tension was tangible. Alfred and Matthew's master was sitting in front of them in the huge, padded chair that was stitched with blue and silver fleurs de lis.

The servants stood behind the huge chair. All of the hired help were dressed out in a monotone, dull red in order to further magnify the various shades of bright red that their master donned. Master Arthur himself was sitting cross-legged with his head propped up on his right elbow. He was gloating that was for sure. His signature green eyes sparkled with a harmonizing smirk.

Across a mahogany coffee table was Arthur's archrival well-nigh mirroring him in opulence but in his own color, blue. Francis stretched himself out on a couch patterned also with the fleurs de lis. He leaned against a throw pillow and held a wine glass in his offhand while staring up at the ceiling, more or less ignoring his guests behind furrowed, thin brows.

Behind Alfred and Matthew were the other two of Francis's once-servants. This made Francis especially livid because they were his best fighting vampires. The two servants were practically the only ones the Frenchman had left besides Matthew: the one they were assigned to protect.

Anyway, Francis had to sell many of his other servants when his constant sparring with Arthur's vampires physically drained them –making them thirsty all the time- causing him to have to either provide more blood for them or sell them to someone who wasn't always fighting. Blood was becoming too expensive to procure off his family's exhausted fortune so the Bonnefoy manor became more and more empty.

Francis was hopelessly in debt, and it seemed the absence of servants behind him testified to that very fact. Fewer pawns on the side of Francis was good for Master Arthur so, by default, his servants too.

Unlike most vampires, Alfred was born one. That gave him advantages that regular vampires, humans that were bitten, didn't have such as increased strength and speed. However, he was much more blood-dependent. He it needed more and needed it more frequently than regular vampires. It was the reason Martinique and Guadeloupe injured him in the way they did. If they bled, it was inconvenient. If he bled, it was dangerous.

Overall, natural vampires were much more rare and much more valued but not exactly cost-effective. Only the wealthiest owners could procure the necessary quantities of blood needed to sustain a Natural. After all, why go to all the trouble of managing one Natural when you could support dozens of regular vampires on the same quantity of blood? It was basic money management. Naturals were just to show off –trophies. That was the exact reason that Master Arthur chose to bring Alfred along whenever he went anywhere public, including now, despite how rude and immature he claimed Alfred tended to be. It was worth it if he could watch his contemporaries turn green with envy as he held a Natural under his thumb.

The grandfather clock ticked its elaborate, silver second hand as the two nemeses faced off in stressed silence.

"I'm in the mood for some tea. Francis, would it be offensive to ask Matthew to make us some, seeing as I wasn't offered any when I arrived?" Master Arthur jeered, as his blonde competitor gritted his teeth. He still refused to look at him.

Matthew instantly grew pale and dug his gaze to the floor as he tried his hardest to disappear. He was doing his best to avoid Francis's gaze since the moment they arrived. He knew the reason he was brought along was so Master Arthur could brag, but he desperately didn't want to be the subject of attention nor the subject of conflict –both of which he was becoming now.

The pale blonde looked up for just the fraction of a second his curiosity betrayed him and seemed to look up right into the pale blue eyes of Francis that conveyed anger and frustration all in that short instant. His eyes grew small as his gaze flew back to the wooden floorboards. Panic began to squeeze his heart.

"_Continuer, Mathieu. Vous savez où je garde tout_."

Matthew nodded curtly, and his curl bounced sharply as well as it dangled in front of his face.

He wasn't comforted by the familiar tongue as he thought he might. Actually, he had been starving to hear the sweet, light sound of French again ever since he'd been taken under Master Arthur's charge once more.

In Arthur's manor, it was against the rules to speak anything but English. Matthew knew English. It wasn't a problem. It was just, he felt like he had to repress half of who he was while doing it. Confining himself to one language was constricting, strangling even. He had nightmares that he would forget how to speak it if enough time lapsed before he heard it again. At least Martinique and Guadeloupe were there this time. Although, the two would only converse with each other in secret and in guarded whispers. They still considered Matthew pathetic and unequal to them.

Arthur was absolutely intolerant of the language even though Matthew knew he knew, if anything, how to understand it. Master Francis was just as, if not more, proud of his language, and he could be just as, if not more, stubborn about it too.

Matthew tried teaching Alfred the language, but the results had been disastrous. His poor brother still wanted to learn, but he was about as patient as a lightning bolt and as teachable as a brick wall.

Snapping back to reality, the once-curled blonde turned on his heel and made for the kitchen, almost tripping over his feet as he tried to leave as quickly as possible without breaking into the full-out sprint he so desperately wished to go.

Master Arthur picked some of the bits of fuzz that accumulated on his red velvet sleeve not even bothering to hide the sneer that tugged his lips into a toothy smile that rivaled the Cheshire Cat's.

Alfred was disgusted. This was a game to them. A sick and horrible _game._ Matthew wasn't even that strong of a vampire. Actually, he corrected himself that he'd actually never _seen_ Matthew fight. He was just too docile and agreeable.

He was turned when he was little and had been fought over just like Alfred had by these two horrible men for years. The thing was, Alfred was very strong given his "privileged" birth. He could defend himself and avoid being caught up in the swirling torrent of capture and kidnap as proved by Martinique and Guadeloupe standing beside him. Choosing to stay with Arthur instead of Francis was easy. Arthur owned the bigger and more prosperous estate. And, from the way he heard things were going, Francis probably couldn't sustain his necessary blood intake. He would starve to death or be forced to seek a Den if he had to live in the Bonnefoy manor. Matthew, on the other hand, he had been tossed between these two bickering rivals since as long as either of them could remember.

It became a game of capture the flag and Matthew was the flag. Just like in the game, the flag itself had no value save for the fact it gave the other team bragging rights. Then it could be waved in front of the other team's face until the previous team could capture it back. It was a cycle. A sport. Something for these two bored aristocrats to entertain themselves.

But to Matthew, it wasn't fun at all. Alfred also had no enjoyment out of it. After all, he was the one that was used to retrieve the "flag". Not to mention that although he was easily stronger than Martinique and Guadeloupe, they knew how to effectively double-team him. Considering they fought so frequently, they had it down to a science. He honestly didn't know how much pain he had gone through to simply play his part in this horrible rivalry.

He still wanted to know why they were here though. Of course Francis knew that they had Matthew and his fighting duo now. It's pretty obvious that when your servants don't show up for a couple weeks that they're not simply late. Sure, there was the element of gloating, but there was something different about this. He wondered if it was because the servants, the pawns of the game, had stepped out of their place and took the game's fate into the their own hands. However, there was no way to tell for sure. And Alfred hated being left in the dark.

"Alfred, go help Matthew with the tea." Master Arthur said, as he waved his gloved hand at his loyal servant that stood stiffly beside him.

Alfred nodded curtly and followed Matthew, not wanting to let his newly reunited brother out of his sight in enemy territory. However, he was frustrated that he was kicked out of the room because Master Artie didn't want him to hear what they were about to talk about. Ugh.

Matthew jumped when he heard the kitchen door close.

"It's just me, bro." Alfred said, as he strode over to his one-curled friend.

They weren't technically brothers, but they had become instant friends when they first met as children. People said they looked enough alike to be twins, but the two boys didn't see it. Alfred had trimmed, golden-blonde hair and sky-blue eyes while Matthew had longer, pale blonde hair and blue-purple eyes.

They still joked that they were brothers though. It was a sort of comfort to think that they had family, someone always on their side, when their lives were as chaotic as they were.

"Hey, lets see if we can find some cooking stuff to bring back so you can make actually eatable food for us! That's half the reason I try to get you back when you're captured!" He teased.

"Is the other half-reason because you missed me?"

"No! The other half is that Artie's in an exponently better mood whenever he knows that he's bested Francy-pants!"

"First off, the phrase would be "_exponentially_ better mood" not "_exponently_", and I could never steal from Master Francis, no matter to whom I belong at the moment."

"Oh, Mattie! You and your conscience. I'd steal from both of them if I were you! I'd bury it all in a hole somewhere and just blame it on the other guy! Then, when I'd piled up enough stuff, I'd run away and sell it all and live like a king somewhere! Preferably somewhere with a beach. And ladies. And lots of good food. You know what? I think I just might do that. You talked me into it! I talked myself into it! Do you know any places like that?"

Matthew laughed, "No. Not off the top of my head."

"Ha! Ha! Well, that's okay. It's not like there's anything good to steal in here anyway!"

"There's the crystal chandelier in the foyer? Although it would be difficult to walk out of here without anyone noticing you carrying it," he smiled, as he tended to the tea.

"I could do it! Somehow! If I put my mind to it!" Alfred cackled, as he imagined himself coming out of the mansion with a huge chandelier rattling above his head as he ran like a crazed maniac off into the sunset.

He was shaken out of his hilarious daydream as they both heard commotion in the living room.

"Stay here," Alfred said, as he left the kitchen to investigate.

Sure enough, the two masters were rolling around on the floor, knocking over everything in their path, as they tried to wring the life out of each other's necks. Francis was cursing in French and Master Arthur in his own heavily-accented English. Francis's two former minions were standing off to the side, every once in a while acting like they were going to help only to quickly back off as the tumbling catfight started to move in their direction. Alfred sighed as he dove right in and attempted to rip the quarreling "adults" apart.

"Look, guys, you need to settle the beauty contest later! Stop acting like children!" he groaned, as he managed to pry his master's hands off his blonde nemesis, but Master Arthur only started to kick now –only further confirming the comment about them being children.

Alfred now saw that Matthew had entered the fray and began to hold his old master back. Only then were the two successfully separated.

Deciding that the fight was indeed over as well, the two owners righted themselves and straightened out their outfits, both of which would need to be extensively repaired or possibly scrapped altogether.

"Thanks for the help, guys!" Alfred said sarcastically to Martinique and Guadeloupe who were half-heartedly helping their old master to his feet. They looked just as tired of the game as Alfred. He completely understood.

"Are we ready to go, kiddies?" The cowlicked blonde said perhaps a bit too loud.

Master Arthur glared at him and Alfred immediately regretted it. A fake smile formed on Master Arthur's face that, frankly, scared the crap out of the servant.

The red-garbed master turned to Francis and grabbed Matthew by the arm. Dragging him out the door rather roughly by his sleeve, he threw him into the carriage that waited outside.

Martinique and Guadeloupe also joined the two in the carriage while Alfred hopped onto the driver's perch and snapped the reins of the horse to urge it forward. The horse jerked and they were headed back to the Kirkland Manor.

The golden blonde was chilled as the wind started to pick up. He drew his legs up and was tempted to release the reigns. The horse knew how to get back by itself practically. He wasn't really steering anyway.

He wished he could hear the conversation that was happening in the carriage behind him, and he really wished Matthew could sit up here with him so he didn't have to face the entire ride back with Master Arthur staring him down. Then again, he also didn't want to offer to trade the pale blonde spots for the same reason.

When the Kirkland Manor rose to view on the hill, he grimaced. As cold as he was, he knew that, when they got back, Master Arthur was gonna give him a what-for for the stupid comment he said at the end of the fight.

Master Arthur was the master of holding grudges. He also considered himself master of justice. For all Alfred was concerned, it didn't matter what Master Arthur was because he was master of Alfred's life. He could already feel the hunger nipping at his being. He was going to need blood soon.

When they arrived, Master Arthur, still more or less dragging Matthew, went straight into the manor and slammed the door without so much as a word. Alfred had a bad feeling. Guadeloupe and Martinique followed quickly, this still being uncomfortable ground they treaded on. Alfred unhitched the horse and put it in the stable where he would have taken his sweet time if he didn't think something bad was possibly going to happen to Matthew.

He slipped in through a servant entrance in the side of the manor that opened into the kitchen. He hurried through there as the mere smell of Master Arthur's left over attempt at cooking made him wretch. When he arrived at the top of the stairs, he scanned the grand entry hall. No sign of them. He didn't care about Martinique and Guadeloupe. He needed to know where Matthew and Master Arthur were.

He knocked on the door of his Master's study that he was strictly forbidden from going in. No dice. He checked the library and the billiard room only to turn up the same result. The parlor was a long shot anyhow. It's not like he had any guests to entertain. The only choice he had left was the basement.

Alfred hated the basement. Honestly, it creeped him out. Master Arthur did some strange stuff down there that even his curiosity didn't give him the courage to do much snooping. Alfred went down there for one reason and one reason only: to get blood from the icebox.

He was starting to get tunnel vision from the dizziness and wobbled over to the icebox. Even though he wasn't injured, he still needed blood really often. He wasn't supposed to get blood for himself, but he couldn't find Artie. He was really close to passing out so he just decided to take the liberty.

He wasn't supposed to know where the key to the icebox door was either. It was right underneath the rug that was in front of the door. Come on. If his master hid it that horribly then he had all the right to use it if he found it. At least, that's how Alfred reasoned it.

He quickly opened the door and replaced the key. The icebox was actually more of an ice_room_. There actually wasn't any ice in it either. It was like a really cold wine cellar sort of deal. In fact, the blood was stored in old wine bottles. He didn't know how Artie kept this room so cold, but he didn't question it. The cold brought him out of his wooziness just enough to where he could make out the labels on the glass bottles clearly. They were all categorized by blood type and kept in pristine condition like everything else in Mr. OCD's house.

The first few columns were A+ and that was usually where Alfred stopped. He didn't need to continue looking past his own type. Popping the cork with one of his fangs, he tossed it away and tipped the bottle up.

Normally, when he wasn't this close to fainting, he would let the bottle sit out a while and let it get a little closer to room temperature, but he didn't have that luxury now. His throat felt like icicles were scraping against it for being in the cold storage for so long. After downing nearly the whole bottle in a few gulps, he pulled the jug away from his lips with a pop as he gasped for air.

Aside from a massive brain freeze, he felt much better. Looking along the racks of blood, he was flooded with reminders of a childhood game he and Matthew would play when they were little. They would walk down the pitch-black hall and see how long it would take before one of them got too scared and decided to go back. They hadn't played that game in a long while. He smiled as he thought of the high-pitch squeals they would emit and imaginary monsters they would dream up that lurked the hall.

Acting on nostalgia, he decided to play again. Taking occasional sips as he went, he walked down the racks that went along the wall. He waited for his night vision to kick in as he started to get far away from the single candle that burned in the entrance. His night vision wasn't supreme, but it was slightly better than a regular human's or regular vampire's.

Thinking back on it, that was probably the reason he always seemed to turn back first. Mattie couldn't see anything besides darkness while Alfred saw enough to make out the shapes into some sort of monster. He shrugged off he memory as he continued down that dark corridor.

_This room is huge!_ Alfred thought to himself, as it seemed the hall continued forever.

He looked over his shoulder and saw the candle in the entryway was just a small blip of light. He actually started to get a little nervous. The childish imagination that still ran around in Alfred's head was starting to play tricks on him again. He jumped several times at the echoing of his own shoes hitting the ground.

"Alfred! Where_ are_ you!"

The vampire practically wet himself as he heard the voice of his Master echo from…above him? He must have been below some sort of vent.

Not being sure if his heart would take any more scares, he turned tail and ran for what he could debate was his life. Who knew what monster could have been waiting for this exact moment to leap out of the darkness and pursue him? He flung open the entry door and slammed it shut, effectively sealing in whatever monstrosity his imagination created that chased him.

"Alfred! Was that you that slammed a door down there? Come upstairs! I have good news to share with you and Matthew~."

**This was originally the first chapter I wrote that dealt with Alfred and Matthew and ect. The previous chapter was actually written much later when I felt I needed a better transition. Canada and America are my favorite Hetalia characters so there will be a big chunk of story revolving around them, but I plan to sort of toss around who the story focuses on. Right now it's the NA bros and England and France arc. The next few chapters will probably still be about them then I'll pass it off to another group. *cough* the Axis *cough* I have the next chapter mostly written, and it has lots of flashbacks to both when France and England are kids and when America and Canada are kids. Much of their arc will include flashbacks which will be sections entirely in italics so you can differentiate. **

**What's Arthur going to tell his underlings? What will happen next? Stay tuned! (Wow, that was corny.)**

******FYI: Because I'm almost finished with my RvB story, I'll have a little break where I can really work on this story if I need to. However, you guys know that I have another Hetalia story that is a sort of cross over with Avatar: The Last Airbender which, by the story stats, seems to be getting some attention still even though I haven't updated it in forever. If you guys are more interested in that story than this one, I can switch my attention appropriately (and will take no offense). However, this would mean that this one would go on hiatus until that other story is finished -just for my own sanity. Let me know what you think. If no one says anything, I'm just going to keep with this story until I finish it or face major writer's block. **

**Thank you for faving and alerting and reviewing! It is really appreciated! **

**Looking forward to it!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, so I mentioned something at the end of the previous chapter about flashing back frequently. Now, you will witness that I wasn't kidding. A single section italics will represent a single flashback as some single point in the past. There might be, as in this chapter, several sections of italics separated by a return to the present timeline (signified by normal font). This does not mean that the flashbacks go together or are necessarily in chronological order either (this chapter is, though). The normal, non-italics font is present storyline which, while there might be scene changes, will not have such disparities in time-skips as the flashbacks or any at all and will certainly be chronological. I tried to write it so it would be evident what time period the flashback was taking place, but I will clarify at the end of the chapter in case there was still some confusion. **

**Sorry for that. Here's the disclaimer then on to the show!  
I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz.**

"_Alfred, come downstairs! I have someone I want you to meet~."_

_As expected, a thunderstorm of footsteps rumbled down the stairs. Alfred, bright-eyed as ever, ran over, held on to the leg of Arthur's trousers, and jumped up and down, begging to see the bundle in his master's arms._

"_Who is it? Who is it?"_

_The tiny boy in question, who had previously fought with all his strength to get away from Arthur, now clung to him -practically burrowing himself- to get away from the scary, loud boy at his feet._

_Arthur smiled warmly and patted his cowlicked charge on the head. _

"_Settle down. He's quite shaken."_

_It was a day and night change. Alfred froze and became as still as a statue, clutching his fists to his chin cautiously. He didn't dare make a sound._

_Kneeling down slowly so the boy wouldn't scare at the sudden level change, Arthur lowered Matthew into full view of Alfred._

_Curious, Matthew opened a single, purple eye to take in the blonde boy who was no older than he. Arthur took this as an opportunity to put Matthew down now that the door behind him was shut and locked. He couldn't have the little guy running off now, could he? _

_Matthew's eyes flew open in panic as he clenched his fingers into a death grip on his arm. He didn't want to be left to fend for himself –even if his only other company was his kidnapper._

_Arthur shook the boy's grip off and Matthew stood as immobile as Alfred. He hugged himself and dug his chin into his collarbone while his eyes squeezed shut. He wished himself back to his old master's good-smelling house with its warm fire and soft blankets. He could feel the tears forming and didn't hesitate in letting them fall. _

_Alfred, who had been twitching from how still he had been trying to keep himself, finally couldn't stand it when he saw the big, crocodile tears dripping off the other boy's cheek. He ran over to the kid, took a pudgy thumb, and, more roughly than he probably intended, wiped the tears from under the kid's eyes. Matthew was too horrified by the sudden action and invasion of his personal bubble to do anything._

_Alfred, finished with his work, smiled then opened his mouth to say something but became distracted by a string dangling in front of the boy's face. It was a small strand of hair with a runaway curl on the end. Alfred had his own hair quirk, but his wasn't _nearly _as fun. He started to bat at it like a cat which, after a few bats, actually elicited a response from the other. He backed away and hunched over with his arms hiding his face from further onslaught._

_Alfred smiled at the shy gesture and pursued the retreating child._

_Arthur, smiling at the amount of adorableness, couldn't help but feel warm and fuzzy inside._

_Alfred had somehow managed to wrench the boy's arms apart so he could give him a proper hug and crush him into said hug. Matthew didn't struggle, but he didn't hug back. It was hard for Matthew to tremble when he was being constricted._

"_His name is Matthew. He's a vampire like you. He's going to be staying with us from now on."_

"_Really?" Alfred gasped._

"_What do you think of that, my boy?" Arthur mused._

_Alfred smiled a huge, bright beam._

"_I like him!" Alfred decreed as he smothered the other child in deeper hug, threatening to knock them both off their feet. There was no room for debate in his declaration. _

_It was official. Arthur now felt completely justified in his actions. It would be almost cruel to separate the two now. _

_Alfred bounced up and down, still holding Matthew hostage, and giggled incessantly. _

"_I have a brother~! I have a brother~! I have a brother~! The bestest brother in the whole wide world~!" The blue-eyed boy sang grabbing Matthew's hands and pulling him around in a circle, encouraging him to dance with him. _

_Matthew simply tried to keep from falling down as Alfred swung him unmercifully around in his euphoric glee._

"_Careful, Alfred. He's more fragile than you."_

_Alfred didn't stop spinning but slowed down some. _

"_I won't let anything hurt Mafhew!" _

_It wasn't in defense of his own actions, it was a bold promise. He would take care of this funny boy he'd only known for five minutes. There was nothing odd about it in Alfred's three-year-old mind. It seemed perfectly logical to him. _

_Arthur didn't know how much more of this sweet innocence he could take before he simply melted into a pool of goo. _

"_Very good, Alfred. Now, why don't you show him the room upstairs that is next to yours? That will be his new room."_

"_I can share! I can share my room!"_

"_That's kind of you, but you both need your own rooms. You're big boys, remember?"_

_Alfred's face fell slightly, but he brightened immediately as he yanked the purple-eyed child up the stairs chatting away animatedly. _

_It wasn't a surprise that he found Matthew's bed empty that night and Alfred's with two, distinct bulges in the covers. Alfred was sprawled out like a starfish, drooling onto his pillow while Matthew was huddled into Alfred's side curled in the fetal position. _

_Arthur shook his head and stifled a chuckle at the scene and left the room silently. Matthew would warm up to Arthur. Alfred would make sure of that some way or another he had no doubt. Before he knew it, he would forget all about the frog. This was his new home now._

"Alfred! Was that you that slammed a door down there? Come upstairs! I have good news to share with you and Matthew~."

Alfred bolted up the stairs, his adrenaline still pumping from his "near-death" experience in the ice room. He finally made it to the main floor and found his master, Matthew, Martinique, and Guadeloupe in the living room. He joined them, plopping down next to the pale blonde and focused on getting his breathing back to normal.

"So what's up, Artie?"

Arthur cringed at the nickname and would have scolded him for such informality if anyone besides than the other servants had been present. It just wasn't worth the energy now.

"Francis and I have reached an agreement."

Alfred shot Matthew a worried look.

"I have decided to show the miserable frog some mercy. I gave him a choice: I would either return to him Martinique and Guadeloupe or Matthew, but not both."

Matthew stopped breathing.

"And he would swear to me that he would never try to capture back whichever group he didn't choose."

The game was over. This wasn't a deal; these were terms of surrender.

He left the group hanging in a moment of suspense.

"So who did he choose?"

"_Mathieu! Oh! Merci, Dieu! Mathieu!"_

_Matthew heard the voice of Francis call out. He and Alfred had been allowed to play outside for a time while Master Arthur attended to business, but Alfred had dragged Matthew deep into the woods to show him the den of baby bunnies he'd found. They had wandered a little off the path, and Alfred insisted he knew where they were. However, Matthew remained unconvinced. He had been wishing someone would find them and take them back. His prayers were answered better than he'd even hoped! Master Francis was here!_

_Matthew grinned happily at Alfred and began tugging him in the direction of his guardian. He hadn't seen Master Francis is a month since living with Master Arthur and Alfred! And he couldn't wait to introduce Alfred to him!_

_Alfred was wary of the new stranger, but he figured if Mattie thought he was okay, then he must be. _

_Francis scooped his treasure into his arms and squeezed tight as if to test if he was hallucinating. Matthew hugged back, drinking in the comforting scent of his master. _

"_Hi!" Alfred said, feeling rather left out. If there was a group hug, he wanted to be a part of it!_

"_Oh, Mathieu, iz this your friend?"_

"_Oui! This is my new brother, Awlfred! He's really nice and fun to play with!"_

"_Frère? My dear, you don't…'ave any brothers."_

_Matthew shrugged._

"_Well, would Alfred like to come back and live with us?"_

"_Um, I…"_

"_Awfie! Come with us!" _

"_Yes, you must come with us. You will like it very much. I will make you delicious food, and you will get to play with Mathieu all the time~. Viens." _

_Francis smiled as he held out his hand for Alfred to take. Alfred was very conflicted and just stared at the hand. Then the hand reached out and took Alfred's anyway. _

"_Come along, garçons. I'll make you a wonderful feast in light of Mathieu's return and our new friend, Alfred."_

_The cowlicked boy felt panic grip him. Would this mean he would never see Arthur again? He just couldn't leave him._

_Alfred began to struggle and try to pull his hand out of the man's._

"_Alfred, what's wrong?"_

"_I don't want to go!"_

"_Mon cher, why not?"_

_Alfred dug his heels into the soil and started to squirm._

"_Let go! Let me go! I don't want to go!"_

"_Child, calmez-vous. I'm not…"_

"_Unhand him!"_

_A red blur appeared out of nowhere and stopped feet in front of them. _

"_I said unhand him! Now!" Arthur shouted, his hands shaking with anger._

_Francis, in shock more than anything, released the boy who ran to hide behind Arthur's legs. _

_Francis stared at them both, mouth agape. _

"'_e iz…yours?" _

"_Yes! He's not my son, but he is my charge! Now, leave!"_

_Francis stood silent for a moment, still choking on the revelation._

"…_Très bien."_

_With that, he turned heel and started back for his manor, but a tiny voice cried out._

"_Wait. Wait! Mattie! No! He's taking Mattie away!"_

"_Alfie!" He heard the tiny boy on his hip call back, just as desperate._

"_Non, Mathieu. You are not to see that boy again."_

"_But he's my brother."_

_Walking quickly to put as much distance between them and Arthur, Francis made for home. The only reason he had been able to get to Matthew was when he was because the boy was wandering in the woods that separated the Kirkland from the Bonnefoy Manor. There was no way he could get over the gates that surrounded Arthur's estate anyway. He made it akin to a fortress._

"'_e is not your brother. I'm sure you boys get along great, but that man iz the one that kidnapped you, remember?"_

"_Oui, mais…"_

"_But nothing! That Arthur iz an evil man who kidnapped you from your home, from me! I am never letting that 'appen again!"_

_Matthew was shocked at the strong tone he'd never heard his master use before. He shrunk back and buried his head in his shoulder. Francis stopped and reprimanded himself at scaring the child._

"_Désolé, Mathieu, but I cannot let you play with Alfred anymore. Do you 'ave any idea 'ow scared I was when I lost you? I would 'ave never forgiven myself if I 'adn't brought you back."_

"_Désolé, Francis," Matthew said, saddened._

"_Now, if you ever see Arthur or Alfred again, you are to come straight to me, understand? You are not to talk to them or go anywhere with them."_

"_But, what if I want to go play for just a little while and they bring me back when I'm done?"_

"_They won't. If they attempt to take you, you are to fight back in any way you can. You are to escape and come back to me even if that means 'urting them."_

"_But I could never hurt anyone!" He said, appalled at the idea of causing harm to someone else._

"_Enfant, listen to me. This iz a sad world we live in. There are people out there that will try to 'urt you, and you cannot let them. You must defend yourself even if that means causing some pain to someone else. You are more important to me than anyone else! If something 'appened to you, I don't know what I would do."_

"_I still don't want to hurt anyone. Maybe I can just ask them to go away nicely? Or I could just run away?"_

_Francis pulled Matthew into a hug again and tried to hold back the tears that had been falling too easily recently._

"_That will leave you in a place you don't want to be." _

Francis tried to take another gulp of his wine, the glass rim hitting the bridge of his nose as he lapped at the red wine that was as scarlet at his flustered cheeks. Matthew had never seen his old master drunk. He was notorious for always having a glass in his hand, and it would seem to the outsider that alcohol was all he drank. However, he was sure to never push the limit before. His reason? Utter vanity. Being drunk was ugly, and Francis was not ugly. Matthew now understood exactly what he meant.

The front of his once-nicely-tucked-in, ruffled shirt was now sticky with pink, and Francis no longer carried himself with an air of dignity. It was a miracle he was standing at all.

The former-servant backed up from his former-master as the blonde man in blue stumbled around angrily. Matthew turned to his new master and pleaded that they leave with his huge blue-purple eyes. He regretted coming at all. It seemed a good idea to bid Francis goodbye, but now…

He knew Francis was forced into this. He understood why he did what he did. His estate was crumbling while Arthur's was prospering. Matthew would be well cared for in the Kirkland Manor, and he could sell off Martinique and Guadeloupe with no feelings of guilt as to whom they might end up with. They would be fine wherever they went, but Matthew wouldn't fetch a good price nor would Francis be able to save his home off him. If Francis really wanted to, he could visit the Kirkland Manor and visit Matthew. In the meantime, Francis had made the hard decision to give up his whole livelihood. He admitted defeat and was planning on looking for a place to work to provide for himself. However, that didn't mean that he planned on doing it with a smile or without mourning.

The thick-browed man remained impassive as he dug out the pouch he carried with him and threw it at the Frenchman's feet.

"Here, frog." His voice didn't carry the venom it normally did.

Francis drug his eyes over to the bag at his feet, but through his tear-blurred eyes was unable to see what it was. He knelt down and picked it up only to cry out in anguish and throw it toward the door.

Matthew and Arthur flinched as they narrowly ducked out of the way of flying coins.

"Igaveyoueverything! _Je_…practically raised you…" the blonde man slurred as his legs gave out and he slid to the floor.

Matthew ran to catch him before he hit his head seeing as he refused to let go of the chipped, empty wine glass even if it prevented a head injury.

He regained his balance after a second or two, and he pulled himself up to stand shaking but defiant as ever.

"…Icaredforyou! _Tu ne te souviens_? But youdon'treturn ze favor, I guess!"

Matthew began to cry unabashedly. He didn't care if Master Arthur was standing there. He was broken.

"I'm sorry! _S'il vous plait_! Forgive me, Master Francis! I should have fought! _Désolé_!"

But Francis didn't hear him. He started to walk into the kitchen leaving Matthew on his knees in the foyer and Master Arthur at the door.

"Come now, Matthew. Let's leave him be."

He paced over to Master Arthur, and they began to walk out the door. They could still hear Francis's ravings in a mixture of garbled French and English. Matthew still couldn't stop crying.

He should have tried harder to stay. He should have put up a bigger fight, but how was he supposed to know that his latest capture was to be permanent?  
When they made it to the carriage, they saw Francis in the doorway, drenched from wine and tears.

"_Et_ this iz 'owyourepay me? Leaving with _'im_? _Je_ thought I could trust, but _vous_ …you…_vampire!"_

Matthew was shocked. Francis hardly ever lost his temper at him, but, even if he did, he never held Matthew's vampirism against him! Yes, Francis was clearly drunk, but he'd never been biased against vampires before. In fact, he was often sympathetic. He had a soft spot, an innate kindness in his heart for the vampire kind. Why else would he fight for one as weak as Matthew? Francis, in his core, was all heart. This was totally out of character. It was almost inexcusable even considering how inebriated he was. Nevertheless, Matthew was crushed beyond a stray happy thought.

He didn't speak the entire way back.

**Okay, so here's the flashback clarification.  
****I will have roughly four different points of time (so far).  
****-Hunters Era: The time period of Chapters 1-3. Teen!Austria, teen!Prussia, teen!Hungary, tween!Lithuania, and tween!Poland as hunters with olderteen!Russia and adult!Turkey as the vampires, teen!Switzerland on the sidelines.  
****-Transition Era: The time period of Chapters 4-5. Olderteen!Switzerland finding young!Lili, young!Romano working for olderteen!Spain, olderteen!France being an older brother to a bratty, young!England, olderteen!Prussia heartstruck over olderteen!Hungary, young!Italy and Hungary working for olderteen!Austria.  
-The Revenge Era: The broad time period in between that is only written in italicized flashbacks. Twenties!England raising young!America, latetwenties!France raising young!Canada, and England and France fighting for Canada as the NA bros start to grow up.**

**-The present time period is the normal font of Chapters 6-7. This period is the Imperial Era where it has teen!America still working for latetwenties!England, earlythirties!France giving up his manor, and the battle for teen!Canada ending. **

**The first and second flashback of this chapter take place at the beginning of the Revenge Era and pretty much go back-to-back with only a short gap of time between (like, a few days).  
This is the first time that Canada was taken from France, and, in turn, the first time France gets him back. **

**...**

******The beginning fluff had to be written. (Side note: when my younger brother was born, I was two at the time, and I was taken to see him for the first time at the hospital, the first thing my mom says I said about him was, "I love him!" I kinda tried to use that when I came up with America's reaction to seeing Canada for the first time. It just seemed so much like what he would do, you know?) And I really love protective!pseudo-father!France. Even in the anime he's shown as being great with raising his little brother even though he teases him relentlessly too. **

**Anyway, it wouldn't be a Cixalea story if there wasn't angst, am I right? I've had the last part of this chapter written for a while, but I felt that it needed a bit more explanation so it can be much more heartbreaking when Canada is forced to leave his pseudo-dad. **

**Historical note: after the Seven Years War, the terms of the French surrender did make France have to choose between keeping some of its Caribbean colonies (Martinique and Guadeloupe) or what it owned in NA. It was a no-brainer to choose the Caribbean colonies because they actually made France money (that it needed desperately after losing a war) from the sugar plantations and etc. while Canada was practically a money pit anyway. It was also a power play by the British Empire to get Quebec (New France) and thereby extending it's grip of NA into Canada. This is twenty or so years before American independence and several American generals such as George Washington participated in this war for the British side. So that is why America is working with England at this point in the story. **

**(By the way, I google translated all the French because I don't know a lick of it. Only the words that we stole and use regularly in the English language are the ones I know how to pronounce and spell. So, if you want to know the meaning of a word, go google it. Most of them are one word-ers that you can probably guess the meaning of anyway.) Sorry, if it was hard to follow in the last scene. France was drunk so I tried to make him use French in random, nonsense places in his dialogue.**

**The next chapter will probably be the last of the FACE arc. Sorry it was so short. I don't know if I'll come back for the American Revolution or the War of 1812 and so on. But we're off to fresh faces after the next chapter -following the Axis! Get excited!**

**Anyway, review if you so desire. I appreciate it~!  
**

**Looking forward to it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry it was so long since I updated. I just finished my RvB story and so I had been working on the ending chapter for that for a while. I also like to have the chapter before the chapter I'm currently working on finished but unpublished that way I can add in some foreshadowing if need be, but the chapter I'm writing now (the one after this) is taking longer than I thought. There would also be no opportunity for foreshadowing anyway so I just decided to kill the suspense and post this one already. Sorry for the delay.**

**Thank you to YAY for reviewing. I'm glad you're enjoying this. :)  
And thank you to Applecherryblossom9201 for faving! **

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz.**

When they returned, even Alfred's best antics couldn't lift the mood of his pseudo-brother.

"Hey, bro?" Alfred knocked on the door to Matthew's room. The rest of the miscellaneous servants' quarters were still unoccupied but representing the aspiring hopes of their master -how big he envisioned his estate to grow.

The cowlicked blonde opened the door to find his brother hadn't moved since he last saw him the previous day. He was still curled up in his bed, clutching the bed sheets to himself as if they could sprout a mind of their own and abandon him.

Alfred couldn't stand crying. It was, like, his one weakness. Whenever he found someone crying he just had to see if there was anything he could do to make them happy again. He stopped himself from thinking of the day Arthur found him and he decided to work for him in the manor.

"Mattie? You don't look so good. Do you need some blood?"

He sat down on the bed next to the pale blonde who only tried to curl up tighter into himself.

"You haven't had any at all since yesterday, have you?"

Matthew shook his head, letting his curl slide along the bed covers.

"The hero can go get 'cha some?" he tried his smile, but it had no effect.

Honestly, he couldn't believe Matthew could go that long without blood. Alfred would have wasted away to nothing by now. Because the purple-eyed brother wasn't a Natural like him, he knew that he wasn't in mortal danger yet, but surely he must have been famished.

"Starving yourself isn't gonna accomplish anything. Forget what Francis said! Being a vampire is nothing to be shameful of! It's not like you _chose_ this. Come on. I'll make you some pancakes?"

Matthew's eyes flickered open, if only for a moment. Alfred brightened as his change in tactics worked! He was getting through.

"Yup, yummy pancakes with _maple syrup_!"

The purple-eyed vampire smiled slightly only to quickly move it back into a stubborn frown.

"Ah, ah, ah! I saw that smile! Come on! I know there's a smile mechanism _somewhere_." Alfred said as he began to poke his brother's side where he knew he was ticklish.

Matthew tried very hard to keep a frown, but was losing horribly. Alfred's poking sped up and the one-curled teen began to giggle like when he was a three-year-old.

"S-stop it, A-al!" He managed to squeak out before erupting into full out laughter.

The tickle fight soon turned into a wrestling match where it was obvious who had the clear advantage, but Matthew began tickling his brother back. The sides were pretty even now.

_A young Arthur found Francis in the kitchen cooking up something delicious –although Arthur would never admit it. He hid behind the partially closed door as he drew in the heavenly scents that wafted from the room. _

"_Bonjour, mon ami," the blonde teen smiled slyly as Arthur jumped in surprise at being noticed. _

"_Avez-vous faim?"_

_Arthur, still half hidden behind the door, narrowed his eyes stubbornly. _

"_Non? More for me," he said casually and used the spatula to lift off a strawberry crepe onto a plate._

_Arthur had to consciously keep his mouth from watering. It smelled so good. Scowl in tact, he shuffled slowly over to the breakfast nook and walked over to the cheery Frenchman who was pouring himself a glass of juice. He poked the older boy on the arm a few times and Francis pretended he only now noticed the kid there._

"_What is it, Arthur?"_

"…_MayIhavesometoo?" he muttered._

"_Oh? Will you say the magic words?"_

_Arthur thought for a devious moment that it would be so hilarious to put a magic spell on the frog but thought better of it. There were only so many bridges he could burn before he'd be stranded. _

"_Por favor." He smirked. He couldn't help himself from being snarky though. _

"_In French? I know you know it. I specifically remember teaching you it."_

_Arthur huffed. He should have known by the amount of the language Francis was using that it was gonna be a day of "Force Arthur to Learn More Useless French." Maybe that's what he was expecting as payment for letting him stay the night in the guest room? _

_The kid pouted his lip. It wasn't _his_ fault his older brothers were jerks and kicked him out yesterday. Then again, Francis never did have to let him stay either._

_Francis sighed heavily at the purposeful hesitation. He scooted out the chair and sat down in front of the still-steaming food._

"_I guess you must not want any of these delicious crepes that badly then. I will just eat all of them all by myself~." _

_He cut into the first one and the strawberries seeped out. Arthur couldn't take it any more. _

"_S'il vous plait! S'il vous plait! Laissez-moi avoir une crêpe, Francis!" _

_The French spilled so easily off the boy's tongue that Francis couldn't refuse. All his lessons were paying off! It was just pulling teeth to get the kid to practice._

"_That was très bon! Very good, Arthur!" he smiled wide as he went to retrieve the kid his promised reward. _

_When he placed the plate down before the boy, he dug in ravenously. _

_The older boy chuckled which made Arthur self conscious._

"_What?" he flatly, with a mouthful of food._

"_You look like a vampire with all that strawberry juice trailing down your face."_

_Francis laughed again as Arthur began to eat slower._

"_That's gross, Francis."_

"_Non. It is not gross. It's how they live," he replied matter of factly._

"_It's still icky," the boy mumbled._

"_You should not be so judgmental, mon ami. What if one of them turned you?"_

_Arthur tried to ignore him as Francis got up to put his finished plate on the counter. _

"_If when you were walking 'ome one day, you 'ear a twig snap behind you…?"_

_Arthur rolled his eyes, but, when he didn't hear him for a while, started to get suspicious. He finished the pastry and stood up slowly from the chair –cautious of making too much sound. He lived with too many older brothers to know that quietness was never good. _

_He creeped out and peeked slowly around the corner. _

_No sign._

_He drummed his fingers on the doorframe when he felt two, cold points of pressure upon the back of his neck. His spine locked up ramrod straight and he couldn't breathe, couldn't move. _

_Suddenly, he heard a chuckle of laughter._

_Snapping out of his state, he whipped around to see Francis holding two, metal spoons in his hands and laughing like an imp._

_Arthur's fear boiled to anger and steamed into fury._

_He shoved the older boy away with one hand unconsciously rubbing the back of his neck. His hot tears spilled over as he was both too embarrassed and too angry to form any words. _

_Francis was shocked. He didn't mean to scare the boy so badly. It was just a prank. He was taking this way too seriously._

"_Oh, mon cher. I didn't mean anything…."_

_Arthur ran to the door and flung it open, not even bothering to take his coat. The only thing he did do was knock over the only thing he deemed breakable in the immediate area, an unfortunate vase, and set it shattering to the floor. Satisfied with the noise, he slammed the door and ran outside. _

_Francis, delayed momentarily by an effort to avoid the sharp vase shards, ripped open the door and called out to the retreating form._

"_Arthur! Attendez! Come back!"_

_He received no reaction as the small boy disappeared into the forest. _

_The teen sighed as he turned a saddened gaze to the colorful fragments that littered the entryway. _

_That vase was his mother's. _

_He sank down to his knees and picked up one of the bigger pieces to tenderly rub over its smooth, hand-painted surface. He hissed as his finger caught the side and sliced him. A small drop of blood fell amongst the porcelain remains along with a single tear._

A knock on the front door was the only thing that could have pulled Alfred away from his brother-in-need short of Arthur screaming his name. The cowlicked vampire sighed and stood to his feet, straightening out his clothes from the wrestling match. Matthew stiffened as he looked like an absolute wreck and felt worse. There was no way Alfred was gonna let him answer the door.

"I got it, Matt. Don't worry about it. Go get yourself something to drink, and I'll handle this," he smiled wide as he left the room.

He attempted to straighten out his hair as he went down the stairs but never could get that one strand in the cowlick to flatten out. It was too late for him to do some serious dueling with it so he just left it alone.

Allowing himself a second to get his game face on (which basically meant he looked impassive but secretly authoritative), he opened the door.

He was met by a tall, bulking gentleman who had judging blue eyes and greased back, blonde hair. Behind him was his brunette, vampire attendant who carried a briefcase in each hand and smiled absentmindedly with both eyes squinted shut. Alfred was distracted by the vampire's funny curl that swung off the left side of his head but quickly brought himself back to reality.

"Hello. This is the manor and estate of Master Arthur Kirkland. May I be of any assistance?" he repeated automatically.

"_Ja._ I am Master Ludwig of the Beilshmidt Manor. I wish to discuss a business venture with your master."

Alfred gave him a quick lookover. He didn't appear to be carrying any weapons, and he only brought one assistant with him. By first glance, he wasn't dangerous. He decided to give him the go ahead.

"Sure, please follow me to the parlor to wait while I retrieve my master."

Ludwig nodded and motioned for the vampire behind him to follow.

"May I take your bags?" Alfred asked, gesturing to the briefcases held in the brunette's hands.

"_Nein_. Those bags do not leave my sight."

"Very well," Alfred said. "Pardon me for a moment. My master will be with you shortly."

The blue-eyed vampire left quickly and jogged up the stairs to his master's study. Knocking twice, the door opened to reveal a shadowed silhouette of Arthur. There was no light on at all in the room.

"What?" he said, rather annoyed at being interrupted.

"Sorry, Master, but you have a guest."

"Hm? I do not remember inviting anyone."

"Y-yes, but he asked for you to discuss something to do with business. He seemed fine so I invited him in. He's in the parlor now. I-if you want, I can tell him you're not interested or…"

"No! I will not have him sent away. I will be down in a moment. Make some tea for him or something."

With that, the door was shut to leave Alfred staring at the wood once more. Shrugging it off, he returned to the parlor. Ludwig was sitting as stone still as he had been before, but his funny-haired assistant was bobbing up and down to some unheard, happy tune.

"Forgive the delay. My master was not expecting guests so he shall be down momentarily. Would you care for some tea?"

"_Nein_. I only wish to discuss the transaction. Your formalities, though appreciated, are not necessary."

"Um…uh. Does _he_ want any?" Alfred asked, pointing to the assistant with the bags.

He was ordered to make tea so he would hope there would be someone who wanted to drink it. Being so nervous, all his forced manners and fancy vocabulary went out the window.

"Si, Ludy! I would love some tea~!"

His master shot him a look that went right over the assistant's head.

"Please don't trouble yourself just for Feliciano."

"Oh, no, sir. It is my master's policy that he offer his guests tea. He would feel like a terrible host if otherwise."

"If he insists, then I will not deny him policy. Thank you, boy."

"It's no trouble at all."

Glad to be out of there, he hid in the kitchen to stir up some tea. When the drink was finally prepared, he brought it into the room on a decorative tray and poured it out fresh for the parlor members. Arthur was there already in what looked like knee-deep discussion. Tea was the only thing that brought his attention elsewhere.

"Thank you, Alfred," he said cordially before taking a long sip. Then he continued, "I'm sorry, Ludwig, but I fail to see the profit in it for me."

Ludwig chuckled, but it was impossible to know what that really meant.

"Of course. You already have obvious wealth as seen by your estate and your hired help. He is a Natural, is he not?" Ludwig gestured to Alfred.

"Indeed."

"May I?"

"Of course. Alfred, come here."

Alfred hated this part the most. He hated when people looked him over like some sort of livestock, but he couldn't risk upsetting one of Arthur's guests.

Ludwig stood and firmly grabbed the blonde's jaw, pinching it so it opened and he could see inside his mouth.

"Excellent fangs. Very healthy. Very well fed. Rare for a Natural in servitude. _Wunderbare_ investment. Where did you buy him?"

"I didn't buy him."

"Oh! You captured and tamed him? That is an amazing feat."

"I did not capture him either. I found him when he was young and brought him into my service on his own accord."

"Ah," a light of recognition brought a smirk to Ludwig's face, "You _raised_ him."

Arthur eyed him suspiciously, wondering where this was going.

"…That would be the most appropriate analogy, yes," he replied slowly.

"Naturals have always fascinated me. Have you ever thought about selling him?" he said as he released the boy and returned to sit on the sofa. Alfred rubbed his jaw and backed away to behind the couch.

Arthur smiled knowingly. _This _was the real "business venture", wasn't it?

"No. He is not for sale."

"I will make it worth your while. He will be well cared for."

It irritated Arthur that Ludwig was talking like he already agreed and it was a done deal.

"I'm sorry, but I am not selling him."

Ludwig frowned.

"I think you fail to see the true potential of your investment here. The business of selling, trading, and even breeding Naturals is-"

"Not something I need concern myself with because I am not selling him. That's final."

Ludwig motioned for Feliciano to bring over the two briefcases. He only opened one though and turned it around so Arthur could see what was inside: stacks of money.

Both Arthur and Alfred's eyes bulged at the amount.

"I'm offering you _cash_ –not wealth stored in a mansion or in antique trinkets passed down from generation to generation that would need to be appraised then sold to the right people after long negotiations or be broken and lose its value. This is cold, hard cash, sir."

Arthur regained enough composure to put his poker face back on. He sat back and pretended to be disinterested and unimpressed.

"Master Arthur, the world of estates is diminishing. Living off inherited wealth is quickly going to bankrupt you. You need to find some business of your own in which to add new money to your income instead of leeching off your family fortune. Our generation is the unlucky generation. All the wealth of our families is running dry. The smart way to keep yourself in house and home is to make new money yourself. You won't have to sacrifice your lavish lifestyle if you do it the right way. With my help, I can guarantee it. Think about it, Arthur."

"My answer remains. I still see no profit in letting you buy off my servants and my security."

Ludwig then motioned for Feliciano to slide him the other case.

"I see what you are saying. You keep this Natural here for security purposes then, yes? That is why he answers the door for you?"

"Yes." Arthur didn't feel like getting into the technicalities of Alfred's job description. Security was probably no longer his main job now that the feud with Francis was officially over. He functioned as a regular servant when not dealing with protecting the Kirkland Manor often times.

"What if I told you with what is in this case, you won't have to worry about hiring for security ever again? No more spending money on providing for a Natural's appetite. All you would have to do is use this."

Alfred was uneasy. He didn't like that this man was so persistent on buying him and so insistent that he was unnecessary. Where would he go if he didn't have the Kirkland Manor? He wouldn't last a day without blood. He would be in mortal danger. What would Ludwig do with him if Arthur did sell him? Also, what was in the case that supposedly made him obsolete?

Ludwig clicked the case open and lifted the top to reveal what was the equivalent of a stroke in a box. Garlic.

Alfred, before he even knew what was happening, leaped back and slammed himself into the wall in the process.

Arthur jumped to his feet and slammed the case shut, eyes wide in horror.

Ludwig was taken aback. He did not expect this reaction at all.

"How _dare_ you bring garlic into this place! You knew that I had vampires living here! How dare you!" Arthur fumed, absolutely outraged.

"If you would let me explain. None of them were in any danger. What this particular breed of garlic does is it-"

"I don't care! The vampires that live here are members of my estate! And if anyone of my estate is threatened, I see that as a threat to me! Now leave before I throw you out myself!"

"You question my honor, but I ensure you that I had no intention-"

"Leave!"

Ludwig's jaw hardened. He stood up to his menacing height and left the room. Feliciano only dawdled long enough to gather the two cases, and, soon, they both were gone.

******I added on to the timeline I have written out for the story. That means longer story for you! I don't have an ending planned yet so there is much more to come. And, if the FACE characters are your favorites (like mine) then don't fear. We will be returning to them later on in the story. How much later? I don' t know yet. **

******I********'m going to transition to the other characters such as the Axis briefly and then the Nordics next. I finally think that I know the Nordics' personalities enough to write for them now. I really didn't like them at first, but now I can say that they might be my second or third favorite brothers group. (The toss-up is between the Italy bros and them. NA bros is definitely my favorite.) **

******I just had to get in some last NA bros fluff and little!England and bigbro!France fluff/angst. I love writing for those four so much! (Have I said that before?) I also love writing for Italy. He's just so happy and fun! There will be more Italy in the next chapter for a bit so hold on!**

******Anyhow, review if you so desire.**

******Looking forward to it.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry I've been so slow in updating. School's almost over which is good and bad because I have lots more homework now, but the end is in sight. So the next update might be a little while. I apologize. **

**Thank you koshaka for your wonderful review! I feel so honored! :)  
Thank you Kudo Shinichi Tanteisan for faving!**

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz. **

"I have never been more insulted!"

"Ve~. It's okay, Ludy! I'm sure Mr. Kirkland was just having a bad day!"

Feliciano bounced as he swung the cases in his hands and skipped like a freaking six-year-old girl. Ludwig just shook his head as he could feel the wrinkles tattooing themselves rather contentedly onto his forehead.

They continued down the road, passing several other persons and vampires along the way. Feliciano loved meeting new people, but his Master wouldn't let him stay to talk to anyone when they were on a business trip, especially one that involved multiple stops like this one. He would put on his mad face that made Feli want to cry sometimes. Feliciano didn't like that.

The cheery vampire didn't need much to entertain him. He was very satisfied with people-watching and whistling at a pretty _bella_ occasionally. The bright colors of town and the noise of the crowds kept him occupied for the most part. However, his hands started to get tired from holding the bags for too long.

When they were nearing the exit of town, Feliciano's hand slipped off one of the bags when he was swinging them. The case flew from his hand and right into the head of a pedestrian.

"Aiyah!"

The unfortunate victim was dressed in red with dark eyes and long brunette hair that was tied back into a ponytail. He was rubbing his forehead while muttering in some foreign tongue under his breath angrily. His traveling companion had similar, dark eyes but his hair was short and flatly cut. The one with the shorter hair bent down to pick up the case as Feliciano ran over.

"Ve. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Forgive me! I did not mean to throw it! I was just walking and-"

"You stupid boy. You should watch what you are doing, aru! Aiyah!"

Ludwig rolled his eyes as he went over to do some damage control.

"I apologize for this. He can be a _dummkopf_ sometimes, but he would never mean to harm anyone."

The man straightened himself and narrowed his eyes.

"This is _your_ servant, aru?"

"_Ja_."

"Then you should control him, aru! My head is pounding! Honestly! If he can't even handle carrying a bag without it flying into someone, I can hardly see the value in him at all, aru!"

Feliciano, who was clutching the bag to his chest, backed up and hid himself behind Ludwig as if to hide from the humiliation. This was worse than Ludwig's mad face.

Ludwig's jaw hardened as he could feel his vein popping in his head. He'd already been through enough crap today in dealing with ungrateful people! He didn't need this now!

"How _dare_ you say that he doesn't have value! Everyone has _value_! The only things that aren't valuable here are your horrible opinions and your inability to recognize when something was just an accident!"

A flash of worry crossed his mind as he wondered if the offended man's vampire servant would respond to the harsh statements about his Master. After all, many people dragged their vampiric help around with them for protection. Feliciano? Well, he was just useful for carrying things. However, the man's servant remained impassive as if with full intention of staying on the sidelines.

Satisfied with the offended gaping of the man in red's mouth and his lack of response, Ludwig grabbed Feliciano's shoulder and walked him away.

"We're done here," he said, with finality. And the two continued down the path and out of the town.

* * *

"Kiku! Move, aru!"

The vampire hadn't noticed his Master leave as he seemed transfixed with the new ideals the tall, blonde stranger presented to him.

"Gomen, Master Wang," he said flatly, as he walked to catch up to him.

As the walked through the town, Kiku zoned out as he attempted to process these new thoughts. Although, the thoughts weren't exactly new to him. He'd thought the way his Master treated him and the other servants was unfair, but he thought that was just the way it was. He didn't know that some Masters actually treated their vampires with care. His master would never defend him like that man defended his clumsy servant.

The walk was mute between the two since they left the town and they were very near arriving at their hometown. It was normal for them to travel in silence. Kiku Honda was just quiet-natured while Wang Yao was nursing a migraine.

As they continued down the path, they saw a dark outline of a figure in the distance. Continuing forward, the figure still hadn't moved and remained motionless, staring them head-on. Kiku got a bad feeling about this. He cursed himself for leaving his katana at home.

"Kol kol kol. Look who it is."

Yao and Kiku stiffened at the voice. They knew that laugh anywhere.

"I expect you have my payment, da?" the scarrved vampire said, smiling.

"Of course I don't have it with me, aru. I'm not going to walk around with containers full of blood on my person, aru!"

The Den leader's smile never faltered, but there was some unseen signal that summoned the rest of his Den out of the shadows. The first two, Eduard and Ravis, grabbed Kiku and pinned him to the ground while the last, Toris, forced Yao to his knees and restrained his arms behind his back.

"We had deal, remember?" Ivan towered over the smaller man.

"Yes, I would acquire blood to feed you and your den, and I would leave it at the agreed meeting place, aru! If I did this, you said you would leave me alone! Have I ever missed a delivery? No! And I don't plan to! I have the payment, but I will leave it where I promised I would, aru! So go away!"

Ivan's aura darkened.

"You have it with you."

"No. I just said I _don't have it with me_. I have it at-"

"Yes, you do. Every human has blood inside them. Fresher that way."

The den leader knelt down slowly, letting the light reflect a little off his fangs.

Yao's eyes went wide.

"Ivan! Ivan! I told you! I _have_ the payment, aru! If you do this, you won't get any more blood from me, aru! I'll report you! I swear, aru! Kiku isn't your bloodtype so you can't take him! I'll make him testify on my behalf!"

Kiku struggled on the ground, baring his fangs, but still unable to get free. Was his Master trying to get him killed? They would have no use for someone not of their own bloodtype so they would just get rid of him if they thought he could be a witness!

"Silly, human. And what will happen, da? There are few Hunters now."

Yao began to struggle.

"There's a Hunter that lives in town! He's killed many vampires like you!"

"Kol kol kol. Maybe I should pay him visit, da? Maybe he wants to become one with my Den~!"

"Mr. Ivan, sir? I'm not sure about all of this. I think-"

"Does little Toris have something to say?" Ivan's eyes, stared deep into the subordinate vampire's soul.

"N-no, sir."

Ivan watched Yao tremble in fear for a few moments as he neared dangerously close with his fangs. Suddenly, he jerked back and motioned for the two to be released.

Kiku rushed to his Master's side to help him up all the while baring his fangs to try to look as intimidating as possible. Although, he knew that none of them would attack without orders from their Den leader.

"Continue the payments, but I need more. I'm sure you can handle that simple task, da? We will be seeing you later~."

Without further adieu, the Den walked off the path and into the woods to disappear amongst the dark shadows and trees.

There was a moment of silence in which the two just breathed. Yao was rubbing his wrists from where Toris held them tightly and Kiku was wiping dirt off his clothes from when he was shoved into the ground.

The walk back to their hometown remained as soundless as the rest of their travels, but Kiku was thinking more and more treacherously.

Upon arriving to the Wang Estate, the two were greeted by a young servant who took one look at their condition and knew something was wrong.

"What happened?" the young vampire asked, his dark eyes curious and tinged with well-justified worry.

"Ivan-san wants the payments increased," Kiku said flatly.

Yao was not as calm.

"He attacked us in broad daylight, aru! He nearly bit me! I'm going to the sheriff, aru!"

"Wait. So you're, like, _not_ going to do what Ivan asked?"

Yao wheeled on the boy.

"Of course I am! Are you an idiot? I have to, aru! I'm just going to warn the sheriff. He use to be a vampire hunter. He'd want to know if vampires were this close to his town. And, he might up patrols in town for us or something. He's not going to jeopardize my home, aru!"

With that he slammed the door shut to leave the two servants inside.

"Leon-san."

"Yes, Kiku?"

Kiku sighed and closed his eyes.

"I am reaving the estate."

"L-like… why?!"

The boy was only thirteen, but he needed to hear this.

"Ivan-san is getting desperate. He's going to either run this estate to the ground with the demands he's making or he's going to force Yao-sama to join his Den. Master Wang can't protect us anymore. It's clear he will not defend us."

Leon's big, brown eyes were creased with confusion.

"Where will you go?"

"I met some people today. I think I'm going to find them again and join them. I would rike to berieve we have common interests."

"…What about me?"

Leon's voice sounded small.

Kiku gave the kid his once-in-a-blue-moon smile.

"I've known you for a rong time, Leon-kun. You're rike a brother to me. However, I berieve it would be for the best for you to find another manor as well. You don't have to follow my exampre. This is my choice, but I want you to have as bright a future as possibre. I doubt you will have one here."

Leon, deep in thought, studied the ground as he processed this information.

"Think about it."

Kiku went to his room to gather his belongings and returned shortly. Leon hadn't moved from the spot he was left. The older servant placed a token in the boy's hands. It was his origami crane, a simple good luck charm that he carried around with him everywhere. Leon smiled warmly. He was touched to know that Kiku entrusted him with this modest but sentimental possession.

"Sayonara, Leon-kun."

The door closed to leave the young boy as confused and conflicted as ever.

* * *

"You know that the only reason you couldn't be arrested for drinking on the job is because you are the sheriff, Beilschmidt," Yao growled as he slid onto the bar stool next to the albino man.

"You know that the only reason I still go by "Beilschmidt" is because I couldn't get my name legally changed to "Awesome"," he smirked, clearly the beer was starting to take effect.

"Somehow, I don't doubt you tried, aru. Although I don't know why you would bother. The Beilschmidt name isn't something to sneeze at, aru. What with your brother's garlic business being so successful-"

"My little brother inherited the brain for business… as well as the whole estate. I just know how to keep less awesome people from hurting each other, and that's all I need to know."

Yao sighed as he rolled his brown eyes in his head. Dusting off his shirt, he lowered his voice to a more subtle volume.

"Well, that's why I'm here, aru. I have reasons to believe that there might be some wild vampiric activity close to town."

"Wild, you say? How far away?" His expression showed he was sobering up quickly.

"A mile, aru. Maybe less."

Gilbert gave him a hard look.

"And how did you come to believe these "reasons" you speak of?"

"I prefer I kept that business to myself. All you need to know is that the town might be in danger, aru."

Gilbert sighed as he took a long swig of his beer. Slamming it down roughly and rubbing the side of his head as he sighed.

"I'm a sheriff. Not a Hunter. Different badges. Different…_policies_. All I do is make sure that the people of this town are safe."

His pale brows creased with withheld pain.

"But the town isn't safe until this threat is taken care of, aru! …I can pay you."

"Yao, you really don't want me to do this for you. I might stumble upon some less than legal dealings you might have going on …such as trying to bribe the town sheriff. You have to decide which you think is worse."

He took another huge swig of his alcohol as Yao gritted his teeth in frustration. Yao knew that, for a cop, Gilbert was a more laid-back type. After all, they were having this conversation in a_ bar_. However, he would uphold the law.

Unsatisfied, the Master pushed himself up from the stool and stomped out of the building angrily. Now what was he going to do?

* * *

He didn't make it far down the street before an arm weighed heavily across his shoulders. He jumped and tried to push the stranger away before the man backed off himself and held his arms up in surrender.

"Hey, now. No need to get so wound up."

"Who are you, aru?"

Yao had never seen this man before. He was tall with blonde hair that stuck up in ways that reminded the brown-eyed man of a lightning strike victim. His obnoxious blue eyes and cocky smile were all he needed to peg him as someone he did not want to waste air talking to.

"The name's Mathias. I couldn't help but overhearing back there you might have a little vampire problem."

"What's it to you, aru?" he crossed his arms indignantly.

"I, well, me and my brothers are the answer to your problem. We're Hunters. The Nordics. Perhaps you've heard of us?"

"No."

Actually, Yao had heard of the Nordics, but he chalked just about everything up to rumor and exaggeration because of the degree of absurdity in the stories that followed the name.

"Well, that's alright. You'll know us after we're done. If you can just tell me the details as well as fork over some cash, I guarantee we'll have the vamps eliminated in no time."

Yao looked the kid over again. He didn't look that old or experienced, but the temptation that this kid and his gang would be able to rid him of Ivan forever was just too sweet to pass up.

Mathias jumped in again at the notice of his hesitation.

"I'm not a stuck-up cop, man. I don't need any the story behind it. I just need the names, last location, blood type, and money then you're home free. Simple, right?"

"…Fine, aru. But I'm paying you only half up front. You'll get the other half when you actually complete the job, aru. His name's Ivan. He's an A+ Den leader. He has three vampires in his den, but you'll have no trouble with them, aru. I have every confidence that if you kill Ivan, they'll run. I don't care about them anyway. Ivan's the one threatening me, aru."

"A Den leader, hu? That's gonna cost you, but it's nothing the Nordics can't handle."

"It better be, aru."

* * *

"Hey! Morons! Lookie here!" Mathias announced as he let the sack of money crash onto the table of their rented house as if kicking the door in dramatically didn't already alert them to his presence.

However, the sound of money seemed to summon his brothers from all corners of the room. He trained them so well.

"Mathias. Did you just volunteer us_ again_. Without asking us." The monotone blonde stood in the doorway brooding, yet he couldn't keep his eyes off the money.

"Oh, Mat! We talked about this, remember?" Tino said with a much gentler and more pleading tone.

"So what? This is just the_ first_ half! We just take care of this _one_ vamp and we get another bag of goodies just like this one!"

Berwald appeared like he tended to do. Mathias hadn't proven it yet, but he just knew the guy could walk through walls. Berwald gave Mathias a look of disapproval before melting into the darkness of the back hallway.

Lukas, still brooding, remained unconvinced as Tino shuffled at the tension that was building.

"Come on, guys!" the oldest brother raised his arms in surrender, "You act like I'm Dad back from the dead roping you into _chores_. This is our job! And I got us good money this time! I just don't get what's with you."

The room was physically silent –no sound waves emitted verbal communication- but the arguments in the Nordic household were more often than not silent but deadly.

Berwald, at age 22, was the supreme master of the art of silent jousting. Mathias wondered if he'd ever heard the guy talk more than twice during a single day. It was like he had a limited number of times his mouth could open before it locked up until the next morning.

Fourteen-year-old Lukas was debatably the second best. He was quite the expert at being displeased mutely or at least in short phrases, but Mathias had the special talent at getting him to snap. It was never pretty afterward.

Tino was their levelheaded, eighteen-year-old mediator. He had no problem interceding and keeping the peace between the brothers, but he did have an airheaded side to him that made him kinda tactless about it sometimes.

The last was Emil. He was basically a mini-Lukas even at age six. The two would never admit it, but they were the most alike of the siblings, but, thankfully, Emil still had his childhood innocence that allowed him to, well, express himself through talking occasionally.

Mathias, the oldest at 26, never got into the whole silent-thing. It wasn't that he wasn't good at it. It was that he didn't see the point. He knew the power of words. He had vocal chords, and he intended to use them.

"I don't know. It _is_ a lot of money. Maybe I can help with this one?" the purple-eyed, youngest brother asked.

"No." Was the word that resonated throughout the room, backed up by the hard glare of Berwald.

Emil frowned in a scary likeness of Lukas and went to sulk on the couch. Mathias sighed and went over to consul him. He never understood why Emil wanted to join them on Hunts so badly. They were _killing_. It was not something that a child should want to do.

"Look, buddy, the vamp's an A+ too so you wouldn't be able to go anyway," he gave the kid a weak smile.

The Nordics were fortunate in the fact that each of them had a different blood type. Their parents were AB+ and AB- . AB was the best type for a Hunter to have considering it was an extremely rare blood type. That meant that few vampires had the matching type, and, the ones that did, were few in number because they didn't have many food sources. Although, only one of the brothers received their parents' blood type. The rest all had different types as provided by the fortunate number of possibilities their parents' combo could produce.

This gave them a huge advantage as Hunters. They could all go in and take out a target or they could go tag team in groups of two which was their preferred method of attack. Whichever one of them had the blood type of the vampire they were after stayed back and watched Emil. It was just routine. Their most frequent teams were B+ Tino and A- Berwald; AB+ Mathias and B- Lukas because of how their blood types and particular weapons skills complimented each other.

Emil didn't smile, but his frown disappeared. His innocent eyes still longed to be included as one of the big boys. At least he wasn't being left out of one he could have gone on?

"Mathias. He's six years old," Lukas hissed.

Mathias glared at his normally stoic younger brother.

"Yes, but I was just trying to tell him we need him here to hold the home base while we're gone."

"He is just a child."

The eldest clenched his fist.

"I could say the same thing about you!" He growled under his breath as he shoved past Lukas. "Now are we gonna make a plan to get this guy or what?" he barked, as he stomped off to plan the demise of the unfortunate vampire.

Lukas sighed and lagged after him, Tino and Berwald not far behind, leaving Emil kicking his feet frustrated on the couch supports and practicing his scowl on the wall.

**Yay! The full Axis, China, and the Nordics appear! And Prussia's back! Let the party begin! So I never planned on including the Nordics, but I've actually grown to like them. I also decided that the Nordics are really the only Hunters left at this point. There's not really a Hunter's Guild anymore. Prussia is now a sheriff which he is well qualified for because of his background in self-defense and etc. I also made Denmark the oldest. I wasn't sure who was older, him or Sweden so I just made Denmark older.  
****(PSA: There will be no pairings still other than a little PruHun.) Yup. **

**Looking forward to it.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm so sorry for not updating for a month! Omigosh! Finals and end of my freshman year of college have just been a little overwhelming at some points. Now that summer has officially arrived for me though, I will, hopefully, have more time to write. I do have an internship though so I will have to juggle this with that. I'm not sure how much the two will conflict or not. We'll have to see.**

**Thank you PrussetheAwesome for faving! **

**Ana Braginski Serbia -Have no fear. Thanks to your suggestion, I plan on going back to Lili and Vash in the chapter after this one. :)  
Kudo Shinichi Tanteisan -Thank you for your snowflakes and cookie! I much enjoyed them! XD I'm not sure that I'm going to be following much of the Hetalia storyline any more though. Things have just been evolving in other directions, but I will still have some references to the Hetalia storyline just maybe not this part. XD**

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz.**

Toris heard him crying long before he got to his room. He didn't bother knocking and just opened the door to find the thirteen-year-old lying on his "bed" –it could hardly be called that though—as he whimpered into his too-big jacket sleeve.

"Ravis…?"

There wasn't much to say. There was nothing that could be done by anyone to alleviate the pain until Ivan decided it was time.

The boy lulled his dulled, irritated eyes over to the man standing in the doorway before shutting them closed again and allowing the tears to continue to spawn.

Toris walked across the room with great effort. He was feeling lightheaded even from standing. He sunk down on the floor beside the kid's bed. Really, his presence was the only moral support he could offer.

"Toris," the teen breathed, "I'm so _hungry_." The kid's voice cracked as he was in so much agony from his empty stomach.

"I know, Ravis. I know. Mr. Ivan will find us some blood soon." He tried to be encouraging, but his stomach that grinded on nothing needed something more than that to be reassured.

Another thin shadow appeared in the entryway and padded his way over to join the other two in their misery.

"We can't take this for very much longer though," Eduard said as he took off his glasses to rub at his bloodshot eyes.

"I just don't understand why he does this to us! Why does he have to starve us?!" Ravis cried suddenly as he grasped at his empty stomach.

"Because you won't question my orders then, da?"

All three stiffened as the found they were in the presence of their smiling Leader.

"M-mister Ivan, I-I would never question your orders. I was just w-wondering if you were going to feed us any time soon?"

Toris had just enough energy to be amazed as to the fact that tactless Ravis was still alive. He looked back up to their towering leader to see that Eduard had quickly shuffled out of the range of fire, ducking out of the doorway like the smart guy he was. Toris gritted his teeth and prayed that Ivan would be merciful on them in their clear misery.

"Silly, little Ravis."

Ivan smirked as he patted his young charge on the head a little rougher than keeping it within the bounds of good intentions.

"S-sir?"

Toris tried to stand as if to interfere, but he got one look from the Leader's purple eyes, and all willpower suddenly fled from him.

"I think it is time."

"Really? Where?"

Toris didn't pretend that this was just a delayed blood delivery they were waiting for. They were all there when Ivan demanded the extra blood payments from their "generous" benefactor, and Yao was true to his word when he said he never missed a payment. The only time that Ivan ever purposefully starved them like this was when they were going after a human. Ivan just seemed to grow tired of bottle blood occasionally, and he knew that his den wouldn't attack a human unless it was life and death. Comes from having a Den made up entirely of people who sacrificed themselves so others could get away.

Ivan smiled knowingly and stalked away. Toris hoisted himself up with great effort and helped Ravis to his feet. The thin boy was shaking and held firmly onto Toris's shoulder for a moment as a wave of lightheadedness washed over him. Slowly, he was able to stand on his own, and the two joined Eduard and their master as they headed off into the night.

Emil sat reading by the fire, busy trying to grow up too fast. He turned the pages that reflected the orange light of the flames trying to keep his eyes from the shadows they casted. He'd heard too many of Lukas's troll stories for a shadow to simply remain a shadow in his peripheral.

His head snapped up as their dog, Hanatamago, scampered to the door and started to bark. He laid the book down making sure to mark his place before he got up and walked to the hyperactive dog.

* * *

"Hush, Hana. Calm down." He stroked her head, but she shook him off and now began growling at the door.

"Bad, Hana. No growling."

The white dog continued to snarl and woof at the door which lead Emil to be sort of nervous about opening it and seeing who was behind it. Hana never growled. He shook the preposterous images of trolls from his head and unlocked the door. He pulled it open to see a huge, towering figure with purple eyes and a scarf.

"Oh." The figure's smile faded, but quickly replaced itself.

The second Emil saw the fangs, he tried to shut the door. The vampire reached out and stopped it from closing.

"I have a question for you, little one. Do you want to become one with my Den?"

Emil slammed his whole body for all it was worth against the door, but the stiff arm of the scarved man was stronger yet.

Emil tried to scream, but he was unable with the vampire's hand covering his mouth. He struggled, but it was no use. The scarved vampire picked him up and brought him outside the house and headed toward the forest that was behind the Nordic's rented house.

The vampire stopped when he reached three others that were waiting for him.

"He's a…he's a _child_." The first looked to the tallest vampire with deep concern and begging in his eyes.

"He still has blood, da?"

There was a silence before the brunette vampire that was shaking finally found his voice.

"_No_."

"What was that, Toris?"

"You know exactly what, Ivan. We might be vampires, but we're no monsters."

"I see no difference."

With that, he dropped Emil roughly and he skinned his knee. The boy sucked in a breath as he examined his knee to find to his horror that he had cut his knee on a rock. He was bleeding.

The smallest vampire suddenly lunged at Emil. Emil's eyes got wide as he opened his mouth and screamed. However, the pain he was anticipating never came. The brunette, the one that had spoken against their leader, bowled into the charging vampire. They tumbled on the ground and Toris pinned him firmly.

"Ravis! Ravis. _Look at me," _he begged with a stern but soft voice as the young vampire squirmed. "You need to stop."

His voice seemed to calm him down, but his breathing was still labored. After another second or two as he exhausted himself, Ravis relaxed and nodded painfully.

"You see, Ivan," Toris looked up with a smirk. "The only monster here is you."

Ivan's smile faded as a dark aura emanated from him. Emil jumped up as he tried to run away. Ivan reached for him, but he recoiled as an arrow stuck through his palm. He glared up with murderous eyes as the rest of the Nordics came sprinting toward him. Briefly looking at his injured hand, the Den leader tore into the forest.

Emil ran to Lukas and hid himself in his older brother's shirt as he sobbed. He kept grabbing at the older boy, trying to get as much of the fabric he was wearing clutched in his tiny hands as possible, any way he could strengthen his cling onto his brother. Lukas dropped everything he was carrying and crushed the boy in his embrace, whispering assurance into his ear that he was safe, nothing would happen to him now.

Meanwhile, the Berwald and Tino were restraining Mathias from running into the forest after him and ripping Ivan apart with his bare hands.

"It's no use running after him in the dark. Don't worry. We'll find him," Tino stated, sounding angrier than any of the brothers had ever heard him.

"At least you got to shoot him!" Mathias growled, as he continued to glare into the forest.

Tino couldn't deny that the shot felt rather satisfying.

"Them?" Berwald looked down at the three subordinate vampires. Two were still wrestling on the ground.

"Don't worry about us. We still have our consciences. I don't know if Ivan ever had one."

The Nordic brothers, from what they saw when they came upon the scene, decided that these three weren't worth the resources to kill. They weren't on their hit list either. They decided to leave them alive.

"We won't think twice next time we see you. Do yourselves a favor and get out of that Den."

With Tino's warning, the left, Lukas still trying to consul a scared and scarred Emil. Toris nodded as he continued to pin down Ravis. He wouldn't let him up until he was sure the bleeding boy was completely out of sight.

He looked up to Eduard who was frozen out of shock of the past events. It was the only reason that he hadn't booked it out of there.

"So what is our next plan? Do we go back to Ivan?"

"I don't want to. We could try to get a servant job?"

"That would be ideal. Help me get him up."

Eduard helped Toris to bring exhausted and now crying Ravis to his feet.

"I'm so sorry, Toris. I lost control. I-I would never…but, I couldn't…."

"Shh. Shh. It's okay. That's why we're here."

Ravis sniffled and wiped some of the tears out of his eyes. He wore a thankful smile as the two older den members led him away from the Nordics' and away from the forest.

* * *

He was running. Ivan was furious. He was _running_. He swore to himself that if he ever became a Den leader, he would never run from anyone again. No one would be able to hurt him then. He would be powerful. Yet, here he was -running.

If only he hadn't hesitated and just bitten the kid. He stopped himself mid thought. He knew he couldn't have bitten the kid. The kid reminded him too much of himself at that age –eyes trusting yet crushed by fears in moments of innocence. He didn't like what role he must have been playing if the child at the door was supposed to be him from the past. A chill of a fear long buried burst through him as he remembered that dark shadow that chased him and chased him. Chased him until his little legs couldn't go any farther. He ran. The figure loomed darker as he drew nearer, the fangs getting closer and closer.

"Big brother!"

Ivan was snapped out of his horrifying memory as he turned to see a platinum blonde running toward him at full tilt. She crashed into him and embraced him. She had been waiting just inside the entrance to the Den hideout.

"Little sister, I told you never to come here." His voice was weak as his body was starting to shut down.

"But, you're my brother! I have every right to come see my brother –risky or not."

He sighed as he couldn't recall how many times he'd given his sister this lecture.

"I'm serious, Natalya. Now especially. My den is very hungry. Something went wrong so they will be very aggressive. Even I am weak now with blood loss."

"You're injured?! You must let me help you, brother!"

"Natalya, you must stay away! It's dangerous for you!"

"I told you! I don't care! You're my brother! I will help you."

She led him into the den and sat him in a chair as she retrieved bandages. But, he did not stay seated as he went and unlocked the cache of blood flasks, but Natalya dragged him away from them as she brought him to the chair again.

"Sit and rest! I will get everything for you."

But Ivan let his sanity slip as his frustration and hunger met. He ripped his arm from her grip, and, in the struggle, knocked the small girl to the ground. He stood, breathing heavily with a horrified expression. Before he could apologize she picked herself up and slapped him across the face. She knew it was probably a bad time to anger him, but she was really just trying to sober him up.

"Sit down, Ivan."

The Den leader was shocked beyond words. He was numb. So he let himself be guided around by his foolish, foolish sister. She got him to sit and brought the flask to him. Ordering him to drink while she wrapped his injured hand. When he was finished with the first flask, she brought him another –instructing him to drink all of that one as well. When he had finished every drop, she was done tending to his hand.

She ended the long strand of gauze with a slice of one of the many knives she carried on her person at all times. With one final loop, she tied off the wrap and sat back, piercing deep into her brother's eyes with her own.

"I love you, big brother. You are not a monster. I wish you would finally understand this. I will come back later to see you and Toris. I will tell big sister that you send her greetings. _Do svidaniya_."

With that, she took one of her knives, stabbed it into the wooden table, stood up, and left.

Ivan wanted to protest. He _was_ a monster! No, she should _never_ come back no matter who it was for! He didn't want her to mention anything to their older sister about his sorry state. He wanted to say goodbye to her. But, Ivan still could not find his voice.

**So, I have to clarify, I do not ship Russia and Belarus. That's just icky.  
****I'm sorry that I was terrible at writing for Estonia. I just don't know him as well so sorry that he's just _there_ much of the time.  
****I also made Latvia much younger, like thirteen. This worked out nicely, I thought.  
I am also really fond of Lithuania so I made him more or less out of character with his assertiveness and bravery.  
I made references to Mongolia and little Russia, but I doubt I'll have any more of Mongolia in it.  
I will admit that I liked writing for Belarus. This is my first time writing for her so I tried to capture as much of her craziness, protectiveness, and knife-ness in it as possible. We'll be hearing from her later, I'm almost sure. I might also want to add in a scene with Ukraine too, but we're moving away from the Nordics and the Soviet Union for now.  
****We're going to check back up on Lili and Vash next so get ready for more adorable sibling fluff. **

**So thanks for being patient with me. I will try to update much faster next time, but I am at the end of my current timeline. I will have to write some more for it.  
Thank you for following, reviewing, and faving! You guys are amazing!**

**Looking forward to it!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you to Demented Celery for reviewing and faving. By the way, great username! Lol**

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz.**

* * *

Lili heard a rustle outside her bedroom window. Normally, with the house as drafty as it was, this was expected. She should shrug it off and fall asleep. However, because her window had a lattice rising up to it, she threw off her covers in excitement. The lattice was in the same condition as the rest of the house but because of the ivy that climbed and weaved between the wood, it acted as reinforcement. This allowed for more than plants to climb up to her window.

She ran over and threw open the shutters to meet the dark eyes she was happy to see.

"Leon! I was wondering how long it was going to be until I saw you again!"

Leon gave a small smile and hopped into the room like he had many times before.

"Sorry. My master has me working much harder now that Kiku is gone. He hasn't hired anyone else so I've had to take the slack."

"Of course." She flashed her bright, big eyes at him. "You are such a hard worker. I appreciate that about you."

Meanwhile, Vash sighed as he sat on the couch. He had been making valiant efforts in repairing the crumbling, old house ever since he took Lili in, but he hadn't gotten around to that lattice trellis yet. While Leon might have thought that he made silent entries into Lili's room, the lattice banged against the side of the house with every step he took as he climbed. Vash always knew when that boy visited his little sister.

His first thoughts were that of an over-protective sibling when he thought of a boy in his little sister's room. However, Leon was the exception to what would have been Vash's wrath.

Leon first met Lili when Yao visited. He tried to buy off Lili, but Vash would have none of that. Still, the tiny vampire servant of the man's took an immediate interest in Lili. They were the same age which was unfortunate considering how young they were and that they were vampires. It wasn't long before Lili begged for a playdate with the boy. Vash agreed, but watched like a hawk. It wasn't hard to convince Yao to let Leon come over. The two bonded instantly and they kept their friendship strong throughout the years.

The first time Leon snuck into Lili's room was a year ago. They had been friends for about five years and were now twelve years old. Vash heard the ascent of someone on the side of his house and grabbed his shotgun. He made for his sister's room, ready to kill whomever intruded the house, but, instead, he heard the giggles of two children. He recognized Leon's voice and lowered the firearm.

This happened a few times before Vash decided it wasn't something he needed to worry about. He'd overheard Lili's explanation as to why Leon was sneaking in. It was because Vash would always worry whenever someone knocked on the door. So she told Leon to sneak in that way Vash wouldn't have to worry. It wasn't exactly the most fool-proof plan ever thought up, but that was Lili for you. Not always brains, but all heart.

And, Vash had to admit, he thought Leon was a good guy too. He trusted that Leon would never harm Lili and, further more, he was a vampire like her. They figured out how to live as they were together. It did wonders for Lili's self-confidence to have Leon around. And what kind of brother would Vash be to deny his sister of something so healthy for her? After all, he did feel slightly guilty for keeping her in the house all the time. He just wanted to keep her were he knew she was safe. This house was the only place he had. So he, painfully but willingly, allowed these occassional home intrusions.

Leon thanked Lili. Honestly, he'd never had a friend like her, and he'd never had a friend better than her. It wasn't that he didn't like his own 'family' members. It was just, well, they were so not _her_.

Kiku was so silently emotional. He felt emotions in extremes but kept it bottled up. He was always worried that he would explode one day. Although, maybe that day already came. After all, he did up and leave.

And, Yao was always such a drama queen. Everything was such a huge deal it was hard to have a decent conversation without it tangent-ing off into a platform for his soapbox.

Lili was different. She really wanted to know him. When he told her what his day was like, she always took interest no matter how boring it was. She cared about him deeply and knew when something was bugging him. Her huge eyes were the embodiment of innocence and Leon could tell her anything knowing it was in the care of an angel. He'd only had her as his one, true friend and he'd never once felt alone. He'd thought about if he like-liked her or not, but he just couldn't bring himself to feeling for her like that. He couldn't bear breaking anything so pure as their friendship over _anything_. If he had her friendship, he didn't need anything more.

She told him about the dream she had a few nights ago and how her favorite dress got a grass stain. She excitedly talked about how Vash was going to take her to get a ribbon for her hair and how she wanted to get one that was violet like her favorite flowers that grew in her garden. Time passed in a blur.

Before he knew it, he had to return to his Master's house. Yao would wonder where he was if he wasn't home soon, and if Yao knew he was sneaking to visit her instead of doing chores or something, he wouldn't be too happy.

He bid her farewell as he climbed back out the window and she curtsied with a smile, a halo nearly visible above her head.

"Goodbye, Leon. Come back soon!"

* * *

Leon entered his Master's house and frowned when he remembered how empty it was without Kiku. It wasn't that Kiku was loud. He was actually rather quiet, but he had a presence that really filled up the room. He gave off an air of confidence and intelligence that no one else he knew did. While Yao was older and more experienced, he just didn't fill the space like Kiku did.

Sighing he closed the door and climbed up the bookshelves to the rafters of the sweeping ceiling not unlike how he scaled the lattice up to Lili's room. Sitting on a beam that was a good fifteen feet above the ground, he lay down in perfect balance and stared at the paneled ceiling. This had been his place of solitude for a while now. He found it even before Kiku left. It was his own little place of peace. He could just go here to think and get away from everything.

Fingering in his pocket, he pulled out the familiar item and traced the edges with his finger. Kiku's paper crane was starting to get worn from Leon carrying it around all the time, but it wasn't anything a little paste could fix.

His silence was interrupted when there was a loud boom that came from the door. Sitting up, he put the crane away and sighed. He really didn't want to crawl all the way down there to answer the door. Maybe Master Yao didn't hear him get home yet? Maybe he would answer the door himself?

Letting the door take another two poundings, he saw his Master shuffle over in his evening gown. Smiling to himself and not caring about his laziness, he watched as his Master opened the door but promptly shut it right in the face of the guest, locking it tightly.

Leon's eyebrow quirked as he noticed his master start to breathe faster. The door was silent for a second but then there was a crack as the wood started to split. Leon gripped the beam as the door after one more swing was shattered on the ground.

Standing where the door once stood was a scarved vampire with purple eyes and silver hair. Leon knew the face too well. Yao stood frozen as he stared at Ivan. They remained like this until Ivan broke the silence much like he broke the door.

"You lied to me, Yao."

Yao backed up and Ivan followed.

"You lied to me. There was not just one Hunter, but five. And the only one that had my blood type was a child. My Den has abandoned me."

"What! How? The sheriff! He's was the ex-hunter I was talking about!"

"Well, there were five still-hunters living in this forsaken town."

Yao continued to back up and almost tripped on a piece of furniture.

"I didn't know! I only talked to them after I met you on the road. That was the first time we ever met!"

"You talked with the Hunters? You hired them, didn't you? You arranged to have me killed."

By now, Yao had backed into the parlor that was out of Leon's sight, but he could still hear them clear as day.

"N-no! I only talked with them!"

"You did not. I know when you lie to me."

"I swear!"

"Swearing upon what we both know to be a lie is unwise. It only makes you less trustful."

Leon could picture Yao shaking like the coward he was under the large vampire's guillotine gaze.

"Okay, I warned them you were in the area! That's all!"

"Kol kol kol."

"Alright!" Yao's voice went up five octaves. "I did hire them! But you are obviously too much for them! I'm sorry for questioning you! Please! Please don't turn me! I'm begging you!"

"They shot an arrow through my hand," Ivan replied, flatly.

Leon's eyes widened and he dug his nails into the wood.

"I'm sorry! Please! I'll get you all the blood you want! _Triple_ the payments! Anything! Please I was just trying to save my house! I was just frustrated with losing my fortune in paying you off, but I don't care about that anymore! Please!"

"You should have spent the money on more blood instead of paying Hunters to try to kill me," Ivan said matter-of-factly.

"I'll do anything! Just don't turn me! I'm begging you!"

"My Den left. Don't worry. I will find them so they will become one with my Den again, but, for now, I must turn you so that the Hunters will not fulfill their contract."

"I can order them to stop! I will go right now! I'll make them put you on the Protected List! I-"

Leon heard a struggle as furniture was knocked down. It ended with Yao letting out a strangled gasp.

"Too late, Yao. Welcome to the Den, da?"

Leon's eyes squinted shut as Yao cried out in pain. Even though he couldn't see into the other room, he remembered what it was like when he was turned. The pain was horrendous.

The boy couldn't believe what was happening right now. What would happen to him if Ivan found him? Suddenly, his own heart started to pound. Would Ivan kill him? Where would he live now? Who could take him in?

He immediately pushed the thought of going to Lili's house out of his mind. As much as it was tempting, he couldn't lead a crazy vampire to her house. He couldn't put her in danger. There was only one name that came to his mind. It was the name of the most successful vampiric estate in the area: the Kirkland Manor. He'd passed by it before and he was sure that they wouldn't turn him away.

As quietly as he could, he moved down from the beam and shimmied down the shelves as silently as possible. He could still hear Yao groaning in pain from transforming so he was sure that he would have about thirty more seconds before Ivan could come looking for him. He stepped over the wood debris that was once the front door as slowly as he could and then dashed for the street. He didn't stop the whole five miles until he came to the entrance of the manor.

* * *

**Sorry that this chapter is so short. The next one is going to be a doozy though. I've been planning out the plot point elements of the next chapter since the beginning. Time for the big reveal! (Reread chapters 8 and 9 if you want to see where I put the foreshadowing.) That's all the hints I'm giving you though. Heehee.**

**I know I said I wouldn't do any pairings besides PruHun, but if you wanted to read the Liechtenstein/HongKong as implied then go right ahead. I've never thought about this ship before, honestly, and I don't think I've ever seen it before. *shrugs***

**Sorry if you don't like how I portray China and/or Russia. I'm not making them out to be very nice people in this one. Sorry. Someone's gotta be the bad guy though. **


	13. Chapter 13

**So this chapter came out pretty fast. Normally, if I get a chapter done really fast, I like to let it sit because I don't trust myself with it so fresh off the grill. However, I'm feeling rebellious...toward myself? I don't know. I might be crazy. Anyway, here you go. I can't guarantee the next chapter will be out as fast. I do have it pretty much all timeline-d out so it's quite possible. Just, don't get too excited if this trend doesn't last, okay?**

**Get ready for the big reveal!**

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz.**

* * *

Ivan heard the dreaded sound of someone knocking on the door to his Den. His hideout wasn't a cave or something like one would picture for a monster to be lurking in, but an average house. However, it was just one of those houses that looked like you should probably skip it during Halloween because no candy was quite worth that. Whoever would have the courage to knock on the door of a house that looked like Ivan's either had a death wish or it was-

"Big brother! I know you're in there! Let us in!"

Ivan jumped from his seat, horrified, and ran to the back of the house to where Yao was still lying down, recovering from his recent transformation. He approached the bed and loomed over him.

"If you utter one sound, I will kill you on spot. Understand?"

He didn't even leave the new Den member any time to respond as he left the room and closed the door firmly behind him. Cringing, the Den leader moved to the front door of the house and twisted the lock open.

Immediately, he was attacked into a duel bear hug by both his sisters. He stumbled backwards from the momentum, but, eventually, he was allowed to breathe again.

"What are you doing here? I told you never to visit me."

It came out a little harsher than he intended, but if it made his sisters leave and get out of danger, he would risk it.

His oldest sister, Katyusha, was crying. Her eyes red and cheeks streaked made it seem that she had been crying even previous to arriving. She brushed his bangs out of his face and adjusted his scarf like she did when they were little.

"Natalya told me what happened, little brother. We are here for you in your sadness."

"You should not be concerned for me. I am a horrible creature."

"Do not say that!" Natalya huffed, stomping her foot. "We are you sisters! We say you are not horrible at all!"

Katyusha wiped some tears from her face and continued. "No matter what you think of yourself, we will make it so you are not alone."

* * *

Yao, leaning hard against the wall for support, made his way to the back door. While Ivan was distracted, he would make his move.

Still, he couldn't help but feel almost jealous of Ivan. _He_ had siblings that loved him that much? Ivan? The one who threatened him and manipulated him for years, not to mention brutally turning him! That Ivan had siblings that would seek him out when he was sad? The world was so unfair.

He found his strength returning to him the farther he got away from the house. He knew this strength was not natural though. This was strength he was gaining from his new, um,_ form_? He didn't know how to accurately describe himself now. All he knew was he could feel the fangs coming through. He'd lost his two human canines like a child would lose their baby teeth. Soon, his vampire teeth would be in. Just that much more of him not human anymore.

He made it to town and immediately tried to find Sherriff Gilbert. He checked the station first only because the bar was farther down the street. He found a note on his desk.

"Awesome mini-vacation! Return soon!"

Yao clenched his fists as he read the sign. He could practically hear the stupid albino's stupid laugh. Everyone knew what his 'mini-vacation's entailed. He was visiting his lady friend at the Edelstein Manor, Eliza-whatever.

He stomped out of the station wondering why in the world he thought that Gilbert would be any help in the first place. He had a hard time naming a time that he _did_ help him.

"Feri-kun, prease keep up with us. Rudwig wirr not be happy if you get rost again."

Kiku always tried to be gentle with Feliciano. It was hard getting use to him at first, but, after he started treating him like he would a child, he was able to handle him better.

Feliciano bounced over happily, the cases of Ludwig's garlic swinging like pendulums with his arms.

"Ve~! Okie dokie, Kiku! But did you see that guy over there? He looked just like the guy I hit in the head with a case of garlic before! Remember, Ludy? Do you remember? Do you?"

"Ja, Feliciano, I do. This is the exact town as well."

"You hit someone here with a case of garric?" Kiku asked, puzzled. "Perhaps I know this person. This is where I use to live."

"Ve, it was that guy right there!"

Feliciano swung an arm up to point, but lost his grip on the case. As luck would have it, rocketed straight and true like a missile, right into the side of the man's head.

"Aiya!"

That was all Kiku needed to hear before he dove ninja-style into a nearby store. Ludwig looked behind him and was going to ask Kiku what was wrong, but was bombarded by a rather angry man with a briefcase.

"Again, aru?! Of course! Of all days, you had to taking your moron for a walk!"

Ludwig cringed and gritted his teeth. "I apologize again for your head, but I will not allow you to insult my friends!"

"Well, I don't care about you or what you call that klutz! I'm looking for my servant, Leon. He ran away yesterday. I need to find him."

Kiku's eyes flew open. Leon? Leon ran away?! Suddenly, he wasn't sure if he was happy about it or not. What drove him to run away? Did something happen? Or was he simply seeking freedom like he suggested? He had no time to ponder the thoughts further when a voice interrupted the people outside.

"Hello. Did I hear you were looking for a Leon?"

Ludwig and Yao turned around to see a man that Yao only knew by reputation, Arthur Kirkland.

"Yes. Leon is my vampire servant. I am looking for him to take him home with me, aru."

Standing next to Arthur was a tall man with a spiked up cowlick and bright blue eyes. His eyebrows furrowed, but Arthur spoke before him.

"There is a Leon that came to my manor yesterday. He came looking for work, however, I was not aware that he had been previously employed. If you would come with my, I can take you back to my manor where you can see him and we can discuss this embarrassing mix-up in greater detail."

Yao nodded quickly, making sure to give one final glare at Ludwig, before joining Arthur and his servant.

Kiku climbed out from his hiding spot and stood behind Ludwig to watch the three leave.

Sensing Ludwig's wondering, he said, "That man was my former boss. I worked for him in his manor for most of my rife. Reon was another servant. He was much younger than I." Kiku trailed off as he began to worry for the boy.

"I can see why you left," Ludwig said with distaste still in his mouth. "Come, Feliciano. Pick up that case, and, if you fling it at someone, so help me, I will glue it to your hand. Let's move on from this forsaken town."

* * *

Yao and Arthur chatted very formally about business until they reached the Kirkland Manor. Both having manors of their own made for plenty of material for small talk. Alfred tuned most of it out.

Sitting in the parlor, Matthew brought out tea he had just brewed while greeting the guest as much as the shy vampire could. Yao ignored him in favor of demanding to see Leon.

Arthur snapped his fingers at Alfred to order him to go fetch the boy. Alfred stiffened, as he hated being snapped at. Nothing made him feel less like a person than being snapped at. Still, he obeyed his Master and returned with Leon by his side.

The boy trembled at the sight of his old master out of both relief and fear.

"I-I thought you were turned by Ivan! I thought you would be forced into his Den! I-I panicked."

"I escaped. We only have a short time before he comes searching for us, aru. We need to get going. Come now."

"Hold on." Arthur held out his hand as if he could stop the world with it. "I said we could_ discuss_ the terms of his future employment. Currently, Leon is in my possession and works for my manor. Not yours. And, from what I understand, you do not even have a manor anymore. If you do not have a manor, you cannot have a business. If you do not have a business you cannot have employees. If you do not have employees, that means that Leon works for me. I will not let you take him."

Yao sat in shock for almost ten full seconds before exploding. He raged at Arthur, cursing and waving his arms wildly in the air.

Matthew pulled Leon behind him and out of the range of fire while Alfred moved closer to Yao in case he needed to restrain him. Arthur, all the while, watched from his chair with his arms crossed it as if it was a show. Everyone could tell this wasn't going to end well.

However, no one expected the door falling in and an ash-haired, smiling vampire standing in front where it once stood. The chaos froze as he walked forward to join with them.

"You broke down my door, you imbecile!" Arthur shouted, halfway between shocked and angry.

"I was knocking but no one was answering. So I came in anyway."

The vampire shrugged like it was the only logical course of action to take.

"Leave! And I insist you pay for the repairs!" Arthur huffed.

The vampire smiled at him in a strange and knowing manner.

"I must take back what is mine, da? Yao works for me. I have come to fetch him back."

Yao, who had been slowly backing up this entire time, froze when Arthur caught him on the arm.

"Take him," he prodded him into the large vampire's direction like he was a shy child. "We were finished with our discussion anyway."

Ivan caught the smaller vampire on the wrist and held it tight. No matter how Yao squirmed he could not escape his iron grasp. Yet, the tall vampire did not leave. He was still smiling but he looked zone-out in thought for a moment. When the moment ended, he turned to Arthur once more.

"…Thank you. My name is Ivan. I am Den leader."

Arthur's eyebrows scrunched up. Why would this creature admit that fact to him? Den's were frowned upon and border-lined on illegal. How was he supposed to respond to that? So Arthur decided to simply reciprocate the introduction.

"…I am Arthur, the master of the Kirkland estate. Are you very much done here? I would like to be left in peace."

However, the smiling vampire's gaze never left Arthur.

"My Den is small. Would you like to become part of my Den?"

The tension, even though it didn't seem possible, burst through the roof.

"No, and I will not be insulted in this manner. Now leave!"

Ivan now walked toward him, dragging an exhausted Yao behind him. He stopped only when Alfred stepped in his path, but the Natural found that his normal height advantage was lost on this Den leader. Still, he didn't doubt he was stronger than him. No one was stronger than a Natural.

Ivan's amused, purple eyes dug into Alfred's blue.

"Your time will come next, comrade. I must convince your employer to become one first. Then you will follow him like the loyal dog you are."

Ivan tried to move around him, but Alfred stuck out his arm like a fence and stopped him.

Ivan's aura got darker.

"Do. Not. Touch. Me."

Alfred responded more or less before the thought it all the way through. He shoved the taller vampire away. Not enough to knock him into anything, but just enough for him to stumble.

"I don't take orders from you."

Ivan recovered his balance and smiled wide enough that his fangs poked through.

"But is that's all you're good for, da?"

Alfred shoved him again. This time, as hard as he could. Except, he wasn't counting on Ivan letting go of Yao so he could use his good hand to grab on to Alfred as he fell back, bringing them both toppling over the couch with a crash.

When the dust cleared, Ivan continued.

"Despite your strength, you allow weaklings like the humans to command you like you are no more than a living shield."

Alfred, pinned him down and snarled his long, Natural fangs in his face. Normally, by pure instinct, this intimidated regular vampires. Except, all Alfred got was a bigger smile from Ivan.

"Think about it, comrade. Do you not take orders from me? Or are you really just tired of taking orders at all?"

"Shut up! Get out of my house!" Alfred tried to untangle himself and stand up, but Ivan held his ankle.

"Ah. But it is _not_ your house, da?"

Now they got into a full-out brawl. Furniture would have to be replaced for sure. Yao wasted no time in running out the front entrance and out of sight now that Ivan was plenty distracted. Leon watched his old Master disappear as his stomach dropped. What should he do?!

Matthew faced the boy and pushed him into the next room, the kitchen, ordering him to run upstairs and barricade himself inside a room. Leon nodded and moved where Matthew ordered him to, but he didn't really register what he was supposed to do until he heard a loud thump come from the parlor –then his brain started working again. He fled up the stairs.

Now Matthew, having just been in the kitchen, snagged a knife from the knife stand and went over to defend his Master. He wasn't sure if he could actually stab anyone, but he wanted a weapon. He could find out about his fight and fight instincts later.

Arthur hadn't moved from his spot in front of his chair since the fight started. He seemed mesmerized by it like it was some sort of entertainment show. He made no attempts to intervene, but Matthew didn't blame him. Even _he_ was hesitant about getting involved and he didn't have to worry about getting bitten. Matthew would have suggested that Arthur follow Leon's example and barricade himself away from danger, but, selfishly, Matthew didn't want to leave Alfred defending himself against a maniac on his own. And, honestly, Arthur was smart enough that he would have moved if he didn't _want_ to be there.

There was a yowl of pain from Ivan as Alfred found his weak spot, his injured hand that had been shot by the Nordics. That seemed to have killed all the fun out of Ivan's attitude as he gripped the younger vampire by his shirt collar and_ threw_ him into the opposite wall with a crash. Matthew watched as his 'brother' crumpled pathetically on the ground, dazed and very much in pain.

While Alfred's head was still spinning, Ivan stomped over to Matthew and Arthur. Matthew's hand was trembling as he held the knife, but he pointed it at Ivan and held his ground in front of his Master.

Ivan paused briefly as he looked from the knife to the teen.

"Kol kol kol~."

A deep rumbling from Ivan's throat made Matthew's skin crawl. His dark aura shaded his eyes as Matthew blinked only to find himself trapped. Faster than it seemed possible for someone as big as Ivan could move, he jumped behind the once-curled vampire. With one arm, he pinned Matthew's arm against himself and compressed the teen against him. Then, with his un-injured hand, he crushed it over Matthew's other hand, keeping Matthew's grip the kitchen knife solid, and pressing it to Matthew's own throat.

"You move, he dies, comrade."

Alfred, who had just recovered and was making a move, stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened as he met Matthew's and hardened as he met Ivan's.

Technically, even if Ivan spilled all of Matthew's blood, he would not be truly dead until someone forced him to drink a drop of another blood type. He would just be in torturous pain. And, unfortunately, the only human in the room had an A+ blood type. The same blood type as Alfred and the crazy Den leader, but not Matthew. Basically, everyone was screwed (except Ivan).

Matthew struggled but against Ivan's grip and the knife's blade, he couldn't move hardly an inch.

"Arthur, if you would be so kind as to please not move."

There was nothing polite about that statement regardless that the word 'please' was used. He walked toward Arthur who still hadn't moved very far despite the obvious opportunities to run, pulling his hostage with him.

Slowly, Arthur backed up into the kitchen. He stopped when Matthew let out a squeak. Blood began to dribble down his neck. The cut was shallow, but he kept the knife pressed there, primed for a deeper plunge.

"You must not care much for poor boy. He will have a knife through neck if you do not stop moving, da?"

Arthur opened his arms.

"Come and get me then."

Giving a warning glance at Alfred, Ivan entered the kitchen as well. Dragging Matthew made the going painfully slow, but, eventually, he made it to where Arthur stood.

When he got to where he was a foot away, Arthur's already out-stretched arm grasped a knife from the same knife holder that Matthew got his knife from. Within a second and with expert precision, he dug the cutting implement into the arm of the Den leader, missing Matthew completely.

Crying out in incredible pain, Ivan released his grip on Matthew and the knife allowing Matthew to fling himself from the grasp of his captor. He dove toward Alfred who quickly found something to press on his brother's still-bleeding neck.

Arthur snorted triumphantly as he walked past the bleeding mess of vampire.

"That's what happens when you threaten members of my estate. Remember that when you are hung for your crimes."

He walked into the living room to see to Matthew when he felt a spike of pain shoot up his leg. He cried out as he fell to his knees knowing full well what just happened.

Alfred and Matthew stared, horrified, as they saw Ivan sinking his fangs deep into the back of Arthur's calf.

There was nothing they could do.

Arthur gritted his teeth and used his other foot to kick the vampire in the head, dislodging him from his leg. However, the damage had been done.

Ivan, now lacking the strength to stand from exhaustion and blood loss, collapsed to the ground, heaving but happy.

"Kol kol ko- …what?" Ivan had licked his lips only to pale.

Suddenly, he burst into laughter, ungodly laughter. He rolled onto his side as he cackled.

"You are clever, Arthur. You are quite the little liar. Thief. Manipulator. Finally, the world knows truth now, da?"

"What is he talking about? What's going on, Master?" Matthew trembled, looking from Ivan to Arthur at lightning speed.

"Dude! You're not really A+, are you! You're so awesome, man! You sure tricked him!"

Arthur slowly stood, favoring his injured leg. He didn't meet their eyes.

"But, Alfred, Ivan would be dead if that was the case. Besides, you can smell his type, can't you? Ivan would not have bit him if he was a different type."

Matthew swallowed as he put the pieces together.

"Well, what else could it be, dude? Master Arthur's fine! Look at him! He's not changing at all! He's just the same as…before…."

The realization suddenly hit Alfred like a train. He felt light headed for a second before walking up to Arthur and putting his hands on the green-eyed man's shoulders. He forced him to look him in the eye.

"Master," he pleaded, "what _are_ you?"

His voice broke as he sounded halfway between heartbroken and enraged. Most people refer to the feeling as 'betrayal'.

Arthur sighed deeply.

"He is a fellow comrade. He is monster just like us, da? He is a vampire."

* * *

**So how about that plot twist? Did you see that coming? Remember the two chapters I said I hid foreshadowing in? Here's what they were.  
****  
Then, in the eighth chapter, if you remember in the flashback when France finds little!America and little!Canada and tries to take them home with him but England comes and stops him, France asks if America is possibly England's son. The only way that would be possible, since we know that Alfred is a Natural vampire (a kid that was born a vampire because his parents were vampires) is if England was a vampire already. I should have put in something that mentioned that France noticed America was a Natural, but it's too late now. **

**There were actually two hints in the eighth chapter. The second hint is back in the present when France is drunk off his rocker and he yells. That whole dialogue Canada thinks that France is talking about him. Really, he's talking to England. He "practically raised" England and he says, "You vampire!" He's not making shame of Canada's vampirism. He's revealing the dirty secret he knows about England. However, because Canada thinks it's about him, it was supposed to throw you off.**

******This one's much more subtle, but, if you remember back in the ninth chapter when Germany comes and tries to sell England garlic, England freaks out like America does. Because he was a vampire too, he would have been harmed by the garlic, however, he tries to convince Germany that he was trying to protect the vampires that lived in his home that could be harmed by the spice.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that plot twist.**

**If you're wondering how and why Arthur became a vampire in the first place, have no fear. That's going to consist of, basically, the entire next chapter. Yay, flashbacks! Feel free to theorize away!**

**Feel free to review and/or fav as you please!  
Looking forward to it!**


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry that this is up a little later. With my internship basically being a full-time job, I've had little time to work on my fanfics. I've actually been going to sleep at, like, 10pm. That's crazy. Anyway, I'm glad that everyone enjoyed that last plot twist. I had way too much fun with it myself.

Thank you to 300PASTA and amichlap for faving! X)  
Thank you to MemoriesOfTheFlame for reviewing! Your comment made me very happy! I'm glad you enjoyed that!

I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz.

* * *

Alfred was still in shock.

"It's true." Arthur said, sounding much older and more tired than he really was.

"H-how?"

Arthur sighed, digging his hand through his hair before daring to face Alfred's confused blue eyes again.

"You should sit down then. It's a long story."

"My older brothers never liked me very much. For the most part, they were the classic, older brothers. Teasing me and picking on me like I was the runt in the litter. But, sometimes, they would come home drunk beyond belief, and that's when normal arguments could get ugly. I would often go to Francis's house when that happened. I would never admit it, and _if you_ _tell_ _anyone_ I said this I'll deny it, but he was my only friend.

"One morning, Francis and I got into a fight like we did many other times. I, I think I smashed a vase, and I ran away from his house. He called after me, but I didn't care. I was a child, and I was mad at him. But, I couldn't go home either. My brothers were undoubtedly still there. So, I just wandered in the woods." Arthur chuckled bitterly to himself. "A very bad decision on my part. I mean, what sort of child won't find trouble in the forest?"

Alfred and Matthew would have jabbed fun at each other for they had their own shares of boyhood adventures in the woods, but the mood was just too serious for that.

"Well, the trouble I found, I thought was shelter. It had begun to storm so I went in to hide out from the elements. I soon came to find that I wasn't alone in this cabin. The cabin was what I found out later, much later, was a sort of rudimentary hospital. A very _unique_ hospital. But all I saw were a bunch of people in the living room slowly turning into vampires.

"I had no idea what was going on. I panicked. Many of them were sleeping so I ended up startling them awake. They were just as scared as I was. After all, what would society think of them having stooped to such depths to have to ask someone to turn them into a vampire as a last ditch effort to save themselves from illness or injury?

"They quickly saw that I was not dying like they had been when they came through that door. They attacked me. They didn't want anyone to know where they were or what they were becoming. They couldn't fathom if there had been a witness to their turning. They were too ashamed. One sliced at me with a fire poker. I got a painful and deep gash in my gut.

"When I finally opened the door, I saw her. I still remember the look of fear and then the look of pity that took her dark eyes. Her hair was as raven as night, and her skin was sun kissed tan. An unusual tan for a vampire.

"She smiled kindly at me. I thought at the time she was sizing me up for dinner. It wasn't until many years later I realized that look was of sympathy. Truly, there was nothing impure about this woman at all. She saw that I had been severely wounded, and, thankfully, I was her blood type.

"For the longest time, I had nightmares of the night that woman turned me. Now, I have dreams of being saved by an angel. That's what really happened that night. I would have surely died if she hadn't turned me. It's what she was doing for everyone else in that cabin in the woods. She was a saint. But, I didn't think that at the time.

"After she had released me from her grasp, I ran out into the storm. She never found me. I never saw her looking for me, but I know, without a doubt, she did. I completed my transformation in the middle of those woods in the middle of that storm. Crying out in pain as the wind howled over me.

"The next morning, I found my way back to Francis's house by a miracle. When he saw me, saw what happened, he broke into sobs. He fell to his knees and embraced me, weeping over me. Later, I asked him why he felt so terrible for me. He told me that he wasn't crying because I was turned. He was crying because I was _safe_. He'd not slept a wink during that storm and had worried himself sick about me. He didn't care how I was, human or vampire, as long as his little, adopted brother was alive.

"But_ I_ cared. I cared way too much. I never went home again, and my brothers never looked for me. In fact, I never came outside of Francis's house for three whole years. I hated what I had become. I was ashamed at myself, and I hated that woman who turned me with every fiber of my being. I swore revenge on her.

"When I turned fifteen, I decided I had to make a life for myself. Hardly anyone hired vampires in that day so I disguised myself. I ground down my fangs until they looked like normal teeth. Then, I kept a stiff upper lip until I found a job. I eventually found one and consumed myself in my work until I had worked up enough money to by a manor, this manor in fact.

"I had mostly forgotten about the night I was turned because I was finally being treated like a human again. That was until someone told me a rumor.

"Someone heard that if a vampire killed the one who turned him, they would become human again. I couldn't resist. I decided to go after that woman.

"It wasn't easy, but I found her. She was still running the hospital. I staked out the cabin for three days and three nights. I noticed that everyone that came into that cabin came in as a sick or injured human and left as a healed vampire. I don't know how I didn't make the connection, but I still hadn't known it was a hospital. I memorized the routines of the Natural who bit me and eventually made my move when I knew she was taking her afternoon nap.

"I was careful not to wake the turning humans this time and found the woman sleeping in her bedroom. Sleeping peacefully on her own bed, I took a knife and stabbed her through the chest. Then I brought out the vile of B- blood that I bartered off a Hunter and poured the whole thing down her throat. She was dead within seconds.

"I don't know why I thought killing her would work, but I knew I had made a mistake when I felt no different, but heard heart-stopping screams of pain coming from the living room. Apparently, it only matters if the vampire that turned you dies while you are still in the process of turning. All those people in the room who came to her for help became human again, and, along with that, their injuries resurfaced. Their cure taken, they died with their regained wounds.

"It hit me in that moment that I had not only killed one person, but possibly fifteen in one, fell swoop. I was a mass murderer.

"When the room became silent with dead, I was finally out of the initial shock so I made my way to the door, but I heard a sound. It was the sound of a crying child. I thought it was perhaps one of the patients who had brought their child with them, but I looked and found none. That's when I checked the Natural's room again.

"I found, hidden on the other side of her bed, was a cradle. And in it, a vampiric child. Too young and with fangs too large for it to have been anything but the Natural's child for the child was a Natural itself–a double Natural at least but perhaps descending from a line of Naturals. I don't know. All I did know was that I couldn't let that infant's death be added to my murder count.

"I walked over to the crib, I will never forget this for as long as I live, and I picked up the baby into my arms. The baby opened its surprisingly light eyes and smiled. It _smiled_ at me. _Me_. The one who had just _killed_ its mother. I brought him back to my manor and raised him. I grew up pretty fast after that.

"I realize I've made many mistakes, the majority of which can never be mended, but, raising you, Alfred, was the best decision I have ever made."

* * *

Sorry it was so short. With the awkward way I wrote this, I thought it needed to be on its own. Sorry that it was lots of dense, long paragraphs. I thought about doing the story in a flashback, but that didn't make any sense because England's supposed to be telling the story to America and Canada. I also wanted him to tell it from hindsight. That keeps the drama going a little more with the impending doom hovering over the whole time. I hope that you accept my internet cake as apology for making you read tons.

Also, this story England is telling is supposed to take place right after the flashback (italicized) events of chapter 9 just so you can get your bearings.

I tried to put some hints in there, but I intended the Natural who turned England and is America's mother to be Native America.

FYI: I'm, truthfully, not sure where to go with this story now. This was the extent of the timeline I had written out. So...I might have only one or two more chapters after this. Unless I get some really amazing idea, this might just be a good place to lay it down. If you guys really want me to, after the final chapter(s), I might just put it on hiatus or declare it the end of part 1. That still would depend on me thinking of a direction to take it in. Anyway, not to bum you out or anything, but just a fair warning. You guys have been and amazing and wonderful audience!  
What would I do after this? Don't worry, I'll still have a foot in the Hetalia fandom, but I will just be picking up where I left off in my crossover fic with Avatar called "Hetalia: Bending Powers." It hasn't been updated in forever, and it's still getting regular hits and story alerts. So, I best not keep them waiting too long. XD

All in all, thank you for reading! Keep a look out in your email inbox for those update emails.

Review or fav if you so desire.  
Looking forward to it.


	15. Chapter 15

**So, here we go. The last chapter! Are you ready for it? I don't know if I am...**

**Seized Opportunity -May I hug you? I was so honored by your long reviews! I'm so glad that you read my RvB work as well as this. That made me so incredibly happy of myself! To explain the blood types thing, the vampires in my fic can only drink the blood of those who have the same blood type as them. So an A+ vampire can only drink the blood of an A+ human. That same vampire will be poisoned and die if they drink the blood of someone who is any other type (A-, B+, B-, O+, O-, AB+, AB-). It's the only way to truly kill a vampire. I hope that helps. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you! **

**I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidakaz. **

* * *

The door to the Kirkland Manor would have broken off again if it had not been freshly bolted when Alfred came stomping in. Leaping to his feet, Matthew flew down the stairs and flung himself at the Natural.

"Alfred! I'm so glad you're back! Everyone thought you had died when you ran away and never came back for a whole month! I was so scared that-"

"I'm fine, bro. I've come to talk to _him_."

Matthew barely had time to feel hurt that Alfred seemed to not have thought of him even once when a voice interrupted him.

"I'm right here, Alfred." Arthur sat reading a thick novel in the discomfort of his stiff chair.

"I need to talk business with you, old man."

Arthur looked up from his book curiously and slightly amused.

"I did a little research and the law of vampire serfdom applies to humans employing vampires. It says nothing about vampire employing vampires."

Arthur's eyes returned to the book as he casually flipped the page. "That's only because no one has done that before-"

"_Shut up_! I'm talking!"

Arthur's brows furrowed as Matthew shrunk back.

"As I was saying. Because you're actually a vampire then I believe I have been denied some legal rights to which I intend to be fully compensated for. Since we are equal, I believe I should have some ownership in this estate. Matthew too. Either that, or I will accept _nineteen years_ worth of wages."

"You were already compensated! You were paid in the blood you needed to _survive_!"

"You needed it too! It was a business expense. If you were able to own an estate and buy things, I should be able to as well. You're no better than me! So I either expect to be given a generous sum of rights to the property I protected and _bled_ for or I expect to be reimbursed for it."

Alfred stuck his nose in the air and crossed his arms, expecting to put Arthur in his place. Arthur just sat and glared daggers at him, lips as silent as stone.

"A-Alfred, you're being unreasonable," Matthew chimed in softly. "He raised you. You were like his son."

"If I was like his son, then why didn't he _adopt _me?! Or even treat me like something other than a slave!"

"Enough!" Arthur leapt to his feet, throwing down the book to his feet. "If you insist on leaving, Alfred, then do it! But know this that you will have _no_ share of this property I worked to buy with the sweat off my brow and the strength of my back! And you will _not_ see a penny of the money _I earned_! Sue me if you must, but I will fight you to the end. If you want to leave, go! But let it weigh upon your conscience that I never did anything wrong by you!"

Arthur's cheek bore a heavy tear squeezed from his tired and pained eyes.

Alfred turned on his heel and marched toward the door before pausing with his hand on the doorknob.

"You killed my mother."

With that he ripped the door off its hinges and lets it collapse on the ground as he disappeared into the street.

* * *

"So did they ever make up, Grandpa?"

"What's that, darling? I can't hear your question over your brother's unawesome _snoring_."

The girl looked over to her sibling who was stretched out like a starfish on the ground, drooling all over the carpet.

"Get up, loser! It's not even that late!" She pushed him, but he just rolled over and made the snoring louder.

Gilbert sighed dramatically and crossed his arms.

"You're not boring, honey. He's just past his bedtime."

His wife, like always, could read his mind.

"But you didn't have to skip past all the times you came to court me. Those were some rather humorous times. Remember our second official date? You tried to sing to me from outside and I wasn't even home, but you just kept singing louder so you lost your voice for a whole-"

"Eliza, they don't want to hear about that lovey-dovey stuff!" He quickly cut her off. "They want to hear about blood and guts and betrayals and danger and other awesome stuff!"

"Yeah!" Their granddaughter fist pumped the air. "You can tell us that stuff later, Grandma Elizabeta. But now we want to hear what happened in that town you two lived in a long time ago!"

Gilbert smirked triumphantly at his wife as he sat his granddaughter on his lap while she rolled her eyes and took her leave.

"Don't tell your grandma, but you get your awesomeness from me."

"I heard that!" Called Elizabeta from halfway out the door. "And I still have my frying pan, Gilbert. Don't think after fifty years I've lost my touch."

Gilbert waited until he was sure she was gone from the room to continue his story.

"So what happened, Grandpa? Did Alfred get his share of the manor?"

"No. Arthur did exactly as he said. Alfred dragged him into court, but the court would not see him because he had no money to pay the legal fees. So Alfred left and started his own business that became quite successful."

"What about Matthew?"

"Matthew was the embodiment of loyalty. He stayed by Arthur's side until the manor crumbled, literally."

"What do you mean? Why did it crumble?"

"There were two "mysterious" fires which marked the end of the town I was sheriff over. The first fire was at the Kirkland Manor and the second, the next day, was at Alfred's factory. I never had solid evidence as to who started the fires, but I bet you can guess who did it."

"What happened to them after that?"

"Alfred, Matthew, nor Arthur died in the fires. They only stuck around town for a few days before they left, heading in separate directions. Even Matthew decided to part with his Master. After those fires, the town's life seemed sucked away."

"Then you married Grandma and moved here, right?"

"Oh no. I married your grandma not long after Alfred left the Kirkland estate the first time. I snatched her up before Roderich could decide to leave town with everyone else and before anyone else could claim her." He smiled victoriously.

"Hm. So at least _you_ lived happily ever after."

Gilbert nodded to his granddaughter. Then her face lit up again.

"Wait! What happened to the scary vampire guy?! The Den leader one! What happened to him?"

"No one found any sign of him after he had that squabble at the Kirkland Manor. Then, one morning, they found his body laying in the middle of the woods –_murdered_."

"Woah!" Her mouth opened into a huge "O". "Who did it? How did he die?"

"It was hard to tell. He had so many arrows in him and so many stab wounds that it was hard to determine which one he actually died from. And I never caught the killers."

The girl smiled. "So the Nordic's got their revenge! Haha! Good guys win! Take that!"

She jumped up and twirled around, pretending to brandish a sword. Gilbert always knew his awesomeness would be passed down through his line. After all, only so much awesome could be taught. You had to be born with it.

"Gil! Send the grandkids to bed! Our daughter will have a fit if the children are cranky from lack of sleep when she picks them up in the morning."

"Aww! Do we have to?"

"Sorry, but your grandma's right. Off to bed."

She pouted her bottom lip and stomped off to the bedroom complaining up and down about how she wasn't tired yet. Gilbert chuckled and picked up his grandson who was still snoring like a banshee on the rug. He tucked him into the bed and told him goodnight, but was stopped by a voice coming from the twin bed opposite the room.

"Grandpa?"

"Yes."

She put on the most beautiful, biggest eyes she could as she whispered, "Can you tell me another story tomorrow?"

The grandfather's face softened into the wrinkles he'd accumulated with his age.

"Of course."

She smiled wide, her dimples showing as she snuggled into her sheets and finally laid her head on the pillow.

"Goodnight, Grandpa Gilbert."

"Goodnight, precious one."

With a flick of the light switch, he closed the door, summoning the most awesome stories he remembered from the recesses of his aged mind to retell to her in the promised morning.

He walked down the hallway, consumed in nostalgic thought, when he reached his own master bedroom where his wife, as beautiful as the day he met her, was waiting faithfully for him.

"Why didn't you tell her what happened to everyone else? You left a lot of things unresolved for her."

Gilbert climbed under the covers with her and wrapped his arm around her.

"Yes, but, sometimes it's best to let her finish the story for herself."

"You know she'll only make up happy endings. And you know well enough that happy endings don't always happen. We were some of the lucky ones, remember?"

"True, but, to her, they'll be the_ right_ endings. And, sometimes, stories seem finished_ because_ they don't have endings."

"I didn't know you had a philosopher alter ego. I'm learning about you even after all these years." She leaned against him lovingly. "And I am glad you're passing on these stories to our grandchildren. You're teaching them so much."

"It's important to teach them. After all, studying your bloodline tells you a lot about where you are from and how you got here."

"A study of blood?" she murmured as she began to fall asleep.

"Yes." Gilbert reached over and turned the light off, closing his eyes to the world and leaving him to the swirling memories of his mind. "It's Hematology."

* * *

**There you have it. It's done. Fifteen chapters, and it has been completed. I can't believe it! This is only my third completed chapter fanfiction! I'm so proud of myself! I completed this fic in nine months and archived over 45,000 words for it. That's a record. I can't believe how far I've come!**

**Thank you to all who have faved! I am not a person who faves very much so I appreciate it deeply when my fic is faved. Thank you!**  
**Thank you to all who commented! I am so honored that you take the time to write encouragement! It means a lot to me!**  
**Thank you to all who put my story on alert. I know that sometimes people can take their number of alerts for granted, but I am also stingy myself when it comes to putting stories on alert so I appreciate it so much!**

**Really, all your support is amazing! I can't believe that I've had so much encouragement for this fic! Thank you so much!**

**I encourage you to check out my other fanfics. I have a few Hetalia oneshots and will be continuing with my Hetalia/Avatar the Last Airbender crossover fic as well as posting my new Hetalia fics soon too. So don't be gone for long!**  
**If you are into Red vs Blue, I encourage you to check out my oneshots for RvB as well as my completed chapter RvB fic. **

**I'm sorry if the ending was sad with England and America and Canada. Their argument was sort of a reference to the American Revolutionary War. I'm also sorry if I didn't come back full circle to your favorite characters, but I hope that the ending was still satisfying to you. **

**I hope you have a great rest of the day/night depending on when you read this.**

**For the final time, review or fav as you so desire.**  
**Looking forward to it.**

**~Fourth in Command Cixalea Jwan~**


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